Tuesday, August 18, 2020

15 Questions to Help You Decide Pros and Cons

 

I just watched the first of four nights broadcast (CNN) of the Democratic National Convention (virtual).  Perhaps some of you did as well. Most of the speakers were well scripted and presented the liberal position adequately. Each has a specific role to play and sound bites to deliver. I especially liked Michelle Obama, who is a really good orator and comes across as genuine and believable.  Don’t know if I can listen to three more nights of this, but will certainly tune in for Kamala Harris's and Joe Biden’s speeches.  Then it will be off to the RNC version of pandemic political punditry. 

It has occurred to me that if you sort through all the political horse-pucky, there is still just one thing you have to decide for yourself.  That is, who are you going to vote for?  I have come up with a list of 15 Questions to ask yourself that might (or should) help in that decision.  First, about them about Donald Trump:

1.)  Do you consider him a “man of faith”? (believes in a higher power and trusts that power to guide his decision-making)

2.  2.)   Do you think he is an intelligent man? (110 IQ or higher – I know this is subjective but use vocabulary, speaking ability, decision-making as guides)

3.  3.) Do you think he is mentally stable? (no signs of dementia, Alzheimer’s, mental deficiency or memory loss which could prove detrimental to the US)

4.  4.) Do you think he is in relatively good health? (likely to be able to serve four years as President of the United States)

5.  5.)  Do you think he is a man of sound principles? (not a racist, misogynist, pedophile, bigot, or prone to marital infidelity)

6.  6.)  Do you think he is a man of sound judgment? (makes decisions which benefit the people of the United States)

7.  7.)  Do you think he is appropriately empathetic?

8.  8.) Do you approve of everything he has done in his political career?

9.  9.) Do you think he has accomplished everything he promised to do during his political career?

10  10.)  Do you think he has accomplished everything he has attempted to do while in office?

11  11.) Do you think he is leading the country in the right direction?

12  12.)   Do you think he has never broken the law? (just not been caught or convicted doesn't count)

13  13.)   Do you think he makes decisions without regard to how they affect him, his financial status or his political future and only benefits the American people?

14  14.)    Do you think he speaks the truth?  Always?  Sometimes?  Never?

15  15.)    Do you think he is adept at handling crises?

Now, ask those same 15 Questions about Joe Biden.

How did that come out for you?  It doesn’t matter if Trump tweets instead of sleeps.  It doesn’t matter if Biden got his son a cushy job from some dealings with the Ukrainians or not. Notice there were no questions relating to fact-checking. What matters is the more “Yes” answers for each of these candidates, the better, and it might lead you down the right path at the voting booth (or mail-in ballot box). 

Both sides claim that this election is the most critical in modern times and will determine the future of our nation for decades to come.  The fact is every party has said that in every election for as long as I can remember, using words like “critical”, “pivotal”, “life changing” and predicting "the end of our democracy/society/the republic/capitalism" as we know it or just plain “doom” should their candidate not win. More political horse-pucky. One thing is true, the future of our nation hangs in the balance, but that is always the case; always has been, always will be, whether you are talking about tomorrow or eight years from now.

Number of “Yes” answers versus the number of “No” answers. To be or not to be, that is the question.  Whither tis nobler in the minds of me to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune….wait, where have I heard that before?

A final question:  Are these two men the brightest and best our nation has to offer for the most important political position we have?  If your answer is "No", don't you think we need more help than either of them can provide?  I do.

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