By Vivian Blevins
Contributing Columnist
With all the wrangling and the discovery that President Biden had classified documents in a private office in Washington, D.C. and the inevitable comparison with the uproar over former president Trump’s cache at Mar-a-logo, is it time to reconsider your political party affiliation?
More American voters, especially younger voters, are registering as Independents, and the approval rating of Congress continues to be dismal. Political strategists are aware of both of these phenomena and now realize they must factor in those registering as Independent voters among the other groups to which they appeal for affirmative votes.
My mother and her family member were Republicans; my father was a Democrat. That put me in the middle, and I never even considered registering as an Independent. That has all changed for me now.
To get a list of what each of the major parties endorses is virtually impossible, but the public has a fuzzy idea that Republicans want a balanced budget, the deficit reduced and lower taxes- especially for big business. And at times Republicans talk about reducing Social Security payments and Medicare/Medicaid or eliminating them altogether. And equally fuzzy, the Democrats are the big spenders who never saw a cause they didn’t want to fund.
Do you feel powerless in this complex and confusing milieu? I know I do. I realize as American citizens living in this democracy (And don’t for a minute realize that as bewildering as this all is that we must preserve our democracy), we have options to make our voices heard in our towns, cities, villages, regions, states, nation. Decisions being made at our local levels depend upon local newspapers with enough staff to investigate and inform us about the issues. Don’t get me started about the frightening demise of these local newspapers as that is the place we not only want to see photos and stories about local sports but also the agendas of our local governing bodies. I’ve identified a list of 15 activities which you may opt to take to influence local decision making; however, that is not my subject for this column.
Back to the national scene and the issues we face as a nation. What are the national priorities and where do you stand? Do your priorities and the price tags attached differ from those you think your party wants to pursue in the next year? Do you even know what their platforms are? They seem to me to fit the category of “hit or miss.” And I’m smart enough to know that circumstances can and do alter priorities.
Inflation
Military/Defense Preparedness
Medical Care
Taxation
Racism
Drug Addiction
National Disasters
Sexism
Terrorism
Climate Change
Immigration
Education
Space Exploration
Law Enforcement
Debt Ceiling
Social Security
Social Service Programming
Investigations. Make your own list here as any I provide might leave one out.
Your list in priority order will certainly differ from mine, and so many items on my list are interrelated. It’s important, however, that you think on this and communicate with those who are elected to serve us, “we the people,” in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Just go online and get their names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails. Let your voice be heard, and don’t ever say “ I don’t have time” or “I’m not a good writer/speaker/communicator” or “They won’t pay attention to me because…”
