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Dear Editor:
“DJT vs HRC. These are the worst candidates for POTUS I have ever seen; I am just not going to vote.” How many times have you heard this or the alternative: “I am looking at Gary Johnson?”
While I can understand their frustration, I am wondering if these people should ever cast a ballot. It seems they simply do not understand our ballot process. Come the fall election America will have a new President-elect. If you are one of the “not voting” in the 2016 crowd be aware that you are voluntarily handing over your participation to someone else. Your declination gives added value to any of those who do vote.
Poor choices? Did you participate in the primary process while these two were being selected? Did you donate, work for, or try convincing your friends and neighbors to consider supporting one of the alternatives? Maybe you took time to vote in the primary but was that the limit of your effort?
Now the candidates are known. It was not your choice so now you want to curl up in a fetal position and say “Not voting.” Thank God, we in America can make any choice we desire. However, this is not the 1st time we have had to choose between the “lesser of two evils.” This is the way our republic works. Cast your ballot or walk away. In the latter case you are giving your choice to a total stranger, maybe to cast a vote for one you least prefer.
When the winner is sworn in next January you will have to live with that person for the next four years. All their decisions which will determine the course of our nation will be directed by one of them. Ideally it should have been someone we all like but that is never the case. Do you really feel comfortable having Hillary at the helm with all her questionable behavior? On the other hand you’ve heard all the critics say Trump is unqualified since he has no political experience.
Abraham Lincoln was a Washington outsider and yet he became our greatest president. Many detractors heaped scorn upon him and warned of impending disaster if he were elected. Voters did make a choice in that election and the next when even he expected to lose. But when he was killed, all mourned their great loss. What a greater loss it would have been had people not voted.
Voting is a constitutional right in this country. We should not lightly toss it aside just because the media concentrates on a candidate’s silly gaffes or careless statements made, instead of focusing on looming issues: gun rights, skyrocketing debt, unemployment, immigration, energy, foreign affairs and judicial appointments.
Be informed. Make your choice, knowing you will decide what kind of country you will hand down to your grandchildren. Will you be proud to have four more years just like the last eight, or will you opt to make America a greater place?
Linda Wickstrom
Newell, W.Va.