It doesn’t matter. The first thing that matters in this election is that across both parties all of the candidates are inherently good people. None of them want to lie to, cheat or steal from the American people. They all share the common goal that something needs to be done. They all have different ways as to how that should be accomplished. Hence, creating the choice that faces all of us come Election Day.
Personally, in order to make my choice I have had to take a few steps back before diving headlong into a candidate and digging in my heals. I considered my own career and what it leaves me qualified to do. After teaching young children for 35 years I feel I can be depended on to teach a five year old to read. I cannot be depended upon to solve climate change issues. I know first hand that I can only do my job successfully because of all my experience has taught me. When I was 22, and a brand new teacher, I would never have been put in charge of running a school. Now, 35 years later, holding 2 Masters degrees, I can be trusted to do that, with a high degree of success.
In my opinion I cannot vote in good conscience to hand over our country to someone who has not been in the trenches on capital hill and knows through experience how things are done. One candidate in last night’s Republican debate pointed out that you can’t just go in there with a budget plan completely drafted out of your own mind without a working knowledge of what already exists when you walk in the door of the White House. You’ll look like an ass and get your hat handed to you.
So, how does one go about contracting the change we need? By using years of experience to craft a plan. If I suddenly became principal of a school today, the first thing I would do, after observing the current climate, would be to rely on what I have learned in the past about group dynamics and how they operate in a building. Knowledge I could not possibly possess if I were a first year teacher or have never been a teacher at all and know nothing about how children learn.
In making my choice for a presidential candidate, I want experience. I will not hand my country over to someone who has never dealt with foreign diplomats, sat for many years on capital hill, or has never crafted a budget for the masses. I need a level headed individual who does not grandstand to garner votes. I need someone who is articulate and not a bully. Above all this, I need someone who is extremely smart. Only an extremely intelligent individual will be able to draw on experience AND use it to craft the changes our country needs.
I wish myself much luck in making my choice.
Leave a Reply