A spark to vote like I’m a college student
One of my duties at Wheelhouse Creative is to edit. (Imagine that.)
And some of the copy I see inspires me.
Like a blog that will be posted on our parent company’s (https://bordaslaw.com) website in the near future.
The blog by attorney Shawn Fluharty deals with voting and youth. It’s very good. Look for it soon.
Anyway, it sparked something in me. It got me thinking about my youth. It got me thinking about my first vote.
So much so I posted something on my Twitter account @MitchVingle yesterday.
I ran a photo of the man who received my first vote: John B. Anderson, who finished third in the 1980 election behind Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter.
“He won support among Rockefeller Republicans, independents, liberal intellectuals and college students,” say Wikipedia.
I was the latter. Yet I was an enthusiastic college student. I took my vote seriously. And I studied. I found all the information available about the candidates’ stances.
Then I voted for the candidate that most closely reflected my views, my ideals.
I didn’t care one whit if my candidate had a chance to win. I voted for the best candidate in my eyes, mind and heart.
I remember how proud I was of the vote. And I may be more proud of it now.
See, I’m not sure I’ve studied as much since about the candidates. I wonder if I’ve been too reliant on sound bites, on news clips, on the way networks present the candidates — heck, on body language.
Of course, in case you were unaware, Wheelhouse Creative works with and helps candidates and their campaigns. We’re very good, very successful at it. So, I’ve been paying attention more these days to issues.
Yet a conversation I had with my Joni last evening again took me back to my youth. We were watching some of the presidential debate and she’s somewhat torn about her vote.
“I just want to know where they stand on the issues,” she said. “Side-by-side. Without all the theater. Then I’ll make a decision.”
At that moment I couldn’t have been more proud of her. I again was transported back to 1980.
So I researched and found what she was looking for, like https://2020election.procon.org/view.source-summary-chart.php.
I’m sure there are others.
The point is, we should all take our votes seriously. We should ask and study the issues and our beliefs. We should see where they match and where they differ.
Then we should make a call.
As if we were college students.
