Complacency: It's understandable, but it could have consequences
OK, raise your hand if you are sick and tired of listening to politicians bicker, throw mud and otherwise not bother to talk about the issues that really matter to you.
Now raise the other hand if you are ready to wash your hands of the whole bunch.
Not so fast.
The cold, hard truth is that there has never been a more important time for you to pay attention, to dissect what you hear on television or read in the newspapers or shake your head at as you listen to the radio.
This nation is at what we call a turning point. And now is the time to decide which fork in the road we are going to take as we head further into the 21st century.
And rest assured, without some action and without the facts, this is just the sort of detour that could become a paved roadway to trouble.
Of course, we don't want to listen to the ads, and we might have to force ourselves to look much more carefully at not only what candidates say, but also what they DON'T say.
But with just a couple weeks left until the May 8 primary -- and the weeks until the November general election also slip-sliding away, we simply do not have the luxury of a summer off -- not if we want the best people running our city, county schools, state and nation.
If it gets too tough to hear, you can take a break if you want. Watch something mindless, read a novel or simply turn on your favorite music, close your eyes and sip a sweet tea.
Then, dive right back in there again.
Modern politics has become a waiting game. It is not always about who is the better candidate. It is about who survives the vetting process.
This year, it is too important an election to sit back and wait for someone else to tell you for whom you should vote -- although some of us will be giving you a few recommendations.
There is no vote too small to affect your future.
Keep that in mind when you want to throw something at the television or skip over that newspaper article.
Published in Editorials on April 22, 2012 12:00 AM