A future worth fighting for

[Hayden Collins]

http://haydencollins.org/support/2012/02/future-worth-fighting/

 

We as citizens of the United States have a responsibility: exercising our right to vote and helping to make a decision that will impact not only you but the entire nation.  I have accepted that responsibility – by taking part in early voting – because I know that my vote counts.

 

If we feel that there’s no leadership we can trust, each of us reacts differently.  As we come to Super Tuesday, you can be active in this process, dormant, or a mercenary. Those that are dormant have given up and have turned a blind eye to the problems and issues. Those of us that become active get involved in the process and lead to positive change.  Then there are those who become mercenaries.  Mercenaries will serve the leader who makes them the best offer.  Sometimes the best offer is not in the best interest of the country, but mercenaries don’t care about that.  When they have fulfilled their service and been paid off, mercenaries go home.  But for those who are being mercenary about their own country, there’s nowhere to go.  There’s no online “Second Life” or other imaginary world that will make go away the realities of paying for a roof over your head and food on your family’s table.

 

It’s your vote - what is your best offer?  Are you looking to negotiate with a business leader who promises to get involved with adjusting regulations and financial policies to make it easier for private sector business to grow and create more jobs?  Or someone who thinks government should get out of the way, demand less in the way of taxes from you, and let the states and communities address their particular needs for social programs?  Or someone who’s concerned with the integrity of our country, the ethical and moral dimensions of government decisions, with less aggressive approaches to economic stimulation?  What do they have to do with core values of smaller government, self-reliance, free market, and fiscal responsibility?

 

Mercenaries don’t care about policies, just paychecks. However, government enticements and entitlements should not buy your vote – your vote is worth more than that.  But where we stand now, are 99% of us headed toward being mercenaries?

 

Sometimes disaster has to strike close to home before the danger gets your attention – a bridge collapses or a family member dies unexpectedly.  And then you find yourself fighting an entirely different kind of battle – one that you’re familiar with, involved with, and can commit to.  Then you have skin in the game – you are no longer a mercenary, you are fighting for your homeland.

 

Don’t let disaster strike your vote.  Don’t become a mercenary. Make a stand.  You can fight now, or you will be fighting later.  Use your online resources to prepare, to ask your own questions, and engage now, rather than escape into other people’s daydreams or be dormant and await results you may not agree with.  You do have input for the direction of the country and the direction of this next generation. Make the choice or the choice will be made for you.

 

Vote.  And Be About It.