I voted early in the last Presidential election. And guess what? It was my vote. I didn’t seek, solicit, or accept the advice of rockers, rappers, actors, scriptwriters, producers or directors. It did not matter to me what people in Hollywood, New York, or Podunk Hollow might think or say. It was my vote. I didn’t vote to please others or champion their causes.
Neither did I pay attention to novelists, artists, Europeans, or other foreigners who feel they have the responsibility and the right to tell Americans how to vote. Pulpit speakers with political agendas did not catch my ear either.
Over these past several months, like you, I was bombarded by the supposedly objective electronic and print news media, which oftentimes proved to be very subjective. The ‘hard’ part of the hard news was sometimes ‘soft’ on facts. The ‘news’ part sometimes was ‘fabrications.’ I was constantly subjected to columnists writing as if anyone who disagreed with them was either unintelligent, closed-minded or from another planet. I saw comic strip messages and political cartoons that quite frequently presented more propaganda than humor.
I gained additional insight into the human psyche by reading ‘letters to the editor.’ Even though none of the letters affected my vote, they did solidify the concept that we constantly compare perceived truths with absolute truths and still wonder why we can’t agree.
So, as I sorted through the various inducements, how did I arrive at ‘my’ vote? Well, I saw and heard the two major candidates. I took note of their claims and compared these claims with their actual records and established values. I looked at their strengths and weaknesses. I weighed all of this and decided what I deemed to be important and unimportant.
I even closely observed the candidates’ wives. Not only did I pay attention to exactly what they said and did, but also the manner in which they said and did it. I asked myself, “Which one do I want to be called the First Lady of our country. Should this woman actually be first? Is she really a lady?”
In other words, in the midst of people saying, “Be sure to vote our way,” I prayerfully took steps to vote my way. More than likely there will be a record number of people going to the polls this year, probably because the two major candidates are so different and represent such opposite views. My inspection revealed to me they are so different and so opposite that my personal choice, quite frankly, was easy. I didn’t vote for a party. I voted for the person. I voted for the individual who will be the Commander-in-Chief at an extremely critical time in our nation’s history.
Someone told me the other day that he was not going to vote. I asked him why. He said, “Because I’m not for either one of them.” I asked, “Is there one that you would rather not get elected more than the other?” He answered, “Well, yeah, I guess so.” I said, “Then you’d better vote for the other.” He replied, “It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s the electoral votes that choose the President, not individuals.”
I understand the Electoral College system and what he is saying. But how many people would it take thinking like this in order to change the course of history? As you read this column, the �swing states� are still swinging and all the �sure states� are not all that sure. One day, a candidate surges in a state; the next day the other may surge. Until the votes are in, nothing is concrete anywhere. Anything is always possible at any time.
After all, the Red Sox, as an at-large wild-card team, were trailing the Yankees three games to none in the American League Championship Series and came back to win four straight. Then they swept four straight from the Cardinals to capture the World Series that had eluded them since 1918. As Yogi Berra is quoted as saying years ago, �It ain�t over till it�s over.�
Study the situation. Vote your vote.
Carl Mays, author of over a dozen books and speaker at over 3,000 events, may be contacted at carlmays@carlmays.com. His books (including A Strategy For Winning, Winning Thoughts, Anatomy Of A Leader, People of Passion and Are We Communicating Yet?) are available in stores, on www.carlmays.com, Amazon.com, and other Internet locations. You are invited to contact Carl about speaking at your next meeting.
From our archives 10/27/4
November 2011 Interesting Dates: 11-1-11, 11-11-11, 11022011 & the End of the World!
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