Thoughts on the Election...

Well, ironically yesterday I sat the playground with Lexi and Katie while waiting for Brianna and Chase to finish guitar lessons - and it happened that the Township building was where the voting was taking place for our town. As I watched people walk in and out I had mixed feelings about the whole thing. I have never voted. I had this sudden urge to join the masses. I contemplated who I would vote for. I like to read about things and have sat reading the candidates voting records and found that neither one voted as I would on all matters. So the question then becomes, what are the really important issues for me?

Education: I feel very strongly about the parents role in educating their children. I respect and admires public school teachers as it must be a difficult job, especially when faced with families whose children don't come from optimal learning environments. But who really supports Home Education? The Democrats really don't - even though one would think they should. The Republicans may - but there isn't any government group that I think really understands the whole crux of the problem. And throwing more money at it won't help- but maybe it can't hurt.

Environment - ANWAR drilling! That one is a no for me. However, if we are worrying about energy sufficiency - let's take those steps to make alternative energy more of a reality! I do appreciate National Parks and saving farmland - so I venture that the Obama side is more favorable to my views on this.

Heath Care - This is a hot one for me. I don't know if any of the plans will fix the underlying problem of cost. I have found personally that not having insurance and paying as I go has saved us money. It would be scary and tragic however, if someone needed hospitalization - but then again - having insurance I found that I paid for everything anyway because the company always rejected things and tried to make it difficult to get any bills paid - for routine things! I don't think having people buy more insurance is the answer.

Economy - the government has a limited role in what it can do to fix this. If we all learn to support our local economies, use resources more wisely, buy less, Freecycle, use thrift stores, libraries etc. we can overcome some of these problems. However, this still does not help if you simply don't have a job - but learning more skills to make one self-sufficient is something we all can do.

So - overall I am happy with the results and believe it is really all in God's hands. I hope to see change - but know that really all is working towards God's plan.