Please Inform Yourself!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! The above Rex Babin cartoon appeared earlier this week in the Sacramento Bee. I was a little surprised that Babin would do such a cartoon, as his work is usually over the top left. Maybe this will cause at least a few people to think about the consequences of their voting actions, as it seems to put this into terms that are easier to understand.

I get frustrated with people that don't take the time to at least inform themselves a little, but still go out and vote for whatever or whomever. One example was a conversation I was having with a mother and daughter on Thanksgiving. Somehow we got on the topic of politics and I mentioned California's Proposition 2 that was just passed by voters, which mandates that certain farm animals (mostly chickens) have more room where they are confined.

They said they both voted for this because they received a "Republican Voter Guide" in the mail saying the party was supporting this measure. I told them I was certain that the Republican party did not support the measure. First of all, you have to ignore these mailers, because you really have no idea who is actually sending them. Secondly, are you automatically taking the same sides of your political party of every single thing that may come down the pike? Please inform yourself and think for yourself! While I do almost always vote for a republican candidate, I certainly don't always follow the party line on every single ballot measure.

One other related note, last night I talked with a guy who said he voted for Obama because we have to stop the excessive government spending! I admit, Bush did overspend, but you really think we will have less with Obama? Most of the economic crisis we are in stems from the mortgage collapse. And who pushed for legislation making it easier for anyone to own a home? The democrats.