Candidates’ Actions Push Voters Away

We haven’t even selected which candidates will represent the two political parties for the White House run in 2008 but the dirty game of politics is in full swing.

Earlier this month it was discovered that Camp Hillary planted questions among audience members and then we have the candidates backstabbing fellow party members.

Yes all politicians use the same playbook of dirty, underhanded tactics to win elections. Candidates from both parties are guilty of mudslinging and they spend so much time saying how bad their opponents are that they hardly spend any time telling us, the voters, what they plan to do to help our country.

It would be nice that during the next debate that some important ground rules are set, such as, the candidate who is asked a question is not allowed to mention their opponents or current or past administrations. Of course, this may fluster the candidate but that’s OK. Candidates need to be put on the spot and forced to answer the tough questions that truly matter to voters.

But because the candidates would rather stick to the mudslinging and answering false, easy questions, the voters are becoming apathetic. Voter turnout is declining each election year and even young voters seem to think that voting shouldn’t be their civic duty.

According to Politico.com poll, 3,000 students at New York University are willing to sell their right to vote in the next presidential election for $1 million, or get a free college education or a new Ipod Touch.

It’s a shame that college students don’t hold their right to vote to a higher value but with the way politicians are behaving, and they seem to get worse every election season, one can see why that going to the polls is fruitless.

And worse off, besides putting off voters with their childish name-calling, candidates are not properly informing the public as to why we should vote for them or what they are going to do for us.

So what’s a voter to do? One of the best ways is to actually research the candidates who are running for office and keeping up with their records. It sounds like a lot of work, reading newspaper articles and going to government Web sites to see voting records, but the hard work will be more honest than any politician in front of a TV camera bashing an opponent.

Why Some Need More Giving Than Others

Tomorrow many throughout this great land of ours will be heading over to the homes of family and friends for Thanksgiving. Many will sit in a warm, cozy room with a hot turkey in front of them and will give thanks for what they have in their lives.

Sadly, many won’t be in a nice home with lots of food and loved ones. For many homeless Americans, the lucky ones anyways, they will enjoy a meal at a soup kitchen or a half-way house.

For others, Thanksgiving will be like any other day, trying to find whatever scraps of food that can be found in the garbage and fruitlessly search for a dry cardboard box that will dismally protect them from the cold.

This is a great time of year to remember those who are less fortunate than ourselves. No matter how bad our lives are, or how bad they seem, it could always be much worse. We could be homeless, without family or friends to go to.

Many generous souls help the homeless all year round but during the Holiday Season, more volunteers offer their services. And helping them can be easy and simple. Maybe not everyone can donate their time to helping out at a soup kitchen but donating canned goods or clothes can make all the difference in the world. Or even donating some money to a worthwhile charity can go a long way.

And if you’re not sure where to start, just go to your local church or house of worship and they will point you in the right direction.

It’s the human thing to do to help others, especially during the holidays and throughout the year. All homeless people need help, even the ones that bark their madness to the sky and the ones who are doing drugs in the street corner.

Sure, these homeless aren’t what we think of and certainly not the ones paraded by your local nightly news or even 20/20 when they do their annual homeless story. But it doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve our help and kindness.

So while you are enjoying your Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, think about those who can’t enjoy a hot meal. And remember that it’s not too late to help them, especially since the Holiday Season has just started.