The past week has again been an interesting one when it comes to the political arena and the presidential campaigns. We inch closer and closer to Tuesday, November 5th. Come on Election Day!! Although I’m not waiting. I plan on voting early once South Carolina makes it available in mid-October. I hope many Americans vote early too so they don’t have to wait in long, long lines on Election Day. Remember, you can’t even get water bottles waiting in line. So, come prepared. 😊
This past Sunday there was an ‘almost’ attempt on the life of Trump. A mentally challenged man, white, unhappy with what was happening in Ukraine, a man with failed businesses and lawsuits, decided to drive to Florida and hang outside Trump’s golf course. There is some talk that the guy knew ahead of time that Donald would be on the golf course. But, really, Trump plays there often so it was not that unusual to look for him there. ⛳️. The Secret Service did their job finding the guy before Trump got close enough to be in range of his gun. Thank goodness.
We live in a time where threats are happening constantly, for both presidential candidates, for other leaders, and for legal immigrants, most noticeably right now the Haitians in Springfield, Ohio. 😢 Keeping everyone safe is impossible because so many people carry weapons. There are more guns than there are people in the United States.
There are shootings most nights in every municipality across America. 🇺🇸. Caused by domestic violence. Bar fights. Grudges. Road rage. They are angry men doing the majority of the shootings. Well, that is except when kids accidentally kill each other or themselves with one.
The gun epidemic is a serious concern of mine. My reasons are this: guns kill quickly. It takes just a moment for someone to pull a gun and shoot and kill. Often guns are used by people who are in a heightened time of emotions. They are really mad or scared. Grabbing a gun to try and settle a situation is rarely going to end peacefully, without someone getting hurt or killed. Guns are not safely kept, even by well-intentioned gun owners. They are not securely put away so they will not be stolen, or picked up by a child. Guns are big business and often the gunmakers and the NRA use marketing tools that are not realistic. They lobby our lawmakers. 💰
I want our country to turn the gun violence around. I have no problem with stricter laws to keep innocent people safe.
So, I will vote for the candidate who is truly willing to work hard towards reducing the deaths, by mass shootings, by irate men, by children who find a family member’s gun. 🧒 👧
I have had a few Facebook discussions with friends on lying. It’s an all-time epidemic in American politics! From crowd size, to people eating pets, to “I never knew that woman.” You know, because a lie is said over and over does not make it true. Fact checking has become a real job now and even when candidates are called out on lying they don’t change the rhetoric. They certainly don’t apologize for ‘getting it wrong.’ That doesn’t seem very presidential to me, but it sure doesn’t seem to bother some.
Why is that? Why are some people okay with all the lies? In fact, their response is usually…”well she/he lies too.” Like it’s okay because the other side does it too. We are a sad people for allowing so much lying.
As I wrote at the beginning of this, Election Day is approaching. I don’t live in a swing state (don’t get me started on Electoral College vs. the popular vote) so I don’t see all the campaign commercials. I see my fair share on network shows. I see enough. It’s why campaigns are so very expensive. Ad time costs big bucks! I don’t really think they make a person choose one candidate over another. Do you? What a waste of money. 💵 We need caps on campaign spending.
My latest pet peeve with politics is the amount of people who seem not to even understand the basics of our American democracy. It really is alarming. No wonder we have such misinformation out there. We have to know how democracy works, and how our officials have limits, and capitalism and a free market vs. price fixing and lack of competition. Do schools teach it anymore? Is it a class requirement still? I wish ALL Americans were required to take a civics class before voting. 📚
Will we survive after Election Day? I have a real concern about violence after it. I worry if the election is close that the discord will reach a new high and it could easily erupt. 💥 So, I am hoping for a landslide. Maybe then people will remain calm. Maybe then we can be over this ‘era’ and on to better times.
Because I want a landslide I will continue to put forth my hopes, and call out all the fake stuff out there. I will push for people to be sensible and to stop being uneducated about what is so very important! Google makes it easy to research. It takes a bit of time – but we need to read, learn, and be a smart voter. 🗳️
Marla’s Musings 