For those that don’t know me personally, I am a political junkie. Watching the primary results and debates are like my Superbowl. I love it! I don’t know where I get it from though, because my parents don’t pay any attention to it, and my grandfather hasn’t voted since Jimmy Carter was in office.
I guess I anticipate the candidate’s moves, like a spectator in a ball stand would. I wait to see who takes the first swing, and then see who gets knocked out. Overall, it’s just like a game, the players hoping to get the best record, and to take home the big prize. Except in this game, there is a lot more at state…the people’s freedom.
This election cycle, I’ve really been disappointed. I mean, I’ll admit, I had hoped that Hillary Clinton (#Imwithher) would run since before she even entertained the thought. So I knew that there wouldn’t be a good show on the Democratic end. And then on the Republican side, I anticipated that the candidates would change their strategy to have a better chance of winning. But now, with the dirtied reputations of both presumptive nominees, I don’t see how anyone could come out of this election looking like a winner.
I won’t go into the whole Donald Trump debate with you, but I will quickly say that I think Trump being our next president would be detrimental to the republic as we know it. There, I’m done.
I do, however, have been very intrigued with the local politics. I knew from the get go that there wasn’t a thing that Senator Jim Davis could do or say that would make me vote for him. But, when I met Jane Hipps, my mind changed from just watching things happen on the sidelines to wanting to be a active participant in the election.
I never will forget it. I went to Greening up the Mountain with my family, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her. I got excited, because to me, politicians, or those running for public office, are like celebrities, unreachable. But that wasn’t the case for Jane. No, I walked right up to her, shook her hand, and told her that we had to make change in North Carolina this time around. I think my family and I spent twenty minutes talking to her, and the passion that she expressed for wanting to make change moved me to the point that I didn’t just want to vote for her, I wanted to get the word out about her. Since then, she has been to my first book signing for Aluria, and I attending her Spring Kickoff in Waynesville, the first political rally I have ever been to.
(Just in case I need to come right out and say it, I hope you will vote for Jane Hipps this November, if you live in the NC 50th District.)
Anyways, back to the overall political environment, things have got to change, and fast. I don’t care if you think it’s on the federal level, the state level, or the local level. There’s blame and room to improve to go around. That’s why we must take a stand on what we hold dear and true. I don’t care if we agree on political ideologies or not, you need to get out and do your civic duty and vote for what you think is right.