POSITIONS

Have you got an opinion or position on some issue in your life? I do, in fact I have many.  Many positions I take on certain issues have changed over the years and with age.  This is the normal with most people.  If you do not have the capability of changing then you also don’t have the ability to grow in wisdom.

I have always been one to vociferously state my opinion or position on almost any item brought to mind. Often, enough thought was missing to make an intelligent argument.  I have found myself to be for many controversial issues only to realize later that my thought process had been altered and my position was completely opposite from the original.  Is this called waffling on the issue?

We are hearing a lot about the candidates running for president “waffling” on their stance of several issues. Are they actually changing their position and saying anything just to get votes?  Possibly they are, I don’t know.  The state of our politics makes it easy and often acceptable to state a change of positions, even if it is a lie.  It is sad commentary to find we have evolved to an environment that makes this acceptable behavior.

I don’t know the true feelings of all the candidates on every issue. I continually try to educate myself through research to make these determinations.  It is the responsibility of every voting American to know the facts and the issues before entering the voting booth.  Everyone needs to be educated.  A college degree does not automatically grant one the knowledge necessary to make intelligent decisions when voting for the leadership of our country.

My hope is that each candidate that changes positions on issues does it through maturity, compassion and education. Maturity in all of us causes our thought processes to change, hopefully for the better.  Without compassion we will never have a world at peace nor will we understand the needs and wishes of others.  By becoming educated, hopefully we determine the truth of what is being said, and act and vote more intelligently.

The only way to have an upright, moral country that is a world leader is to elect upright and moral leaders. If we expect the rest of the world to look up to us and, yes, follow us we must prove we are worthy of such a lofty position.  We cannot demand or militarily force the rest of the world to respect us.

Once we have an educated populace and exercise or right and duty to vote, we will accomplish this goal. We all must educate ourselves, educate others, campaign for what we believe what is right then get out and vote.  To be eligible to vote, we must register.  If you have recently relocated even within the same city, you must register again.

Please be a loyal American. Register to vote, and then go to the polls and vote.  November 8, 2016 will be the most important election in your life, up to this point.  Let’s preserve America and regain our position in the world.  We can take America back and have a government of the people, for the people.

 The thoughts and ideas expressed above are exclusively those of Jack Straley. We may agree, and that’s fine, or we may disagree, that’s okay too.  My sole purpose is to encourage others to think, study, and become involved. Exercise your freedom and above all else please vote.