Posted by Reed Peters on October 20, 19100 at 11:49:07:
Hello everyone,
This November is a turning in our nation. I have a few thoughts to pass on.
I am not particularly affiliated with one party or another. I have always thought of myself as socially liberal and economically conservative. I suspect I would probably fall into the Libertarian party more than any of the others.
I don't know if you saw any of the three presidential debates. I watched all of them closely. The last debate was great. The "town hall" forum is definitely my favorite. It really allows the participants to best get their point of view across.
In this election I personally have three main issues:
I really want the Federal Government to make a strong effort to pay down our national debt. Right now almost a third of our taxes each year goes to servicing the interest on this debt. For the first time, we are in a position to actually make some inroads to paying down the debt. This opportunity is because the economy is doing well. However, the economy is a funny thing. Sometimes its good, as it has for the last ten or so years, and sometimes it's bad. When it is good, the government receives greater tax revenues, when it's not we don't. (I say we here because our government is us). Now we are having good times and we need to cleanup the debt that was accumulated in the 70's and 80's -- the bad times (although I had a blast in the 70's and 80's). Now while we can. If the economy turns sour again soon before we pay down the debt, we can kiss off ever having reasonably low taxes again. I'll be working for 25 to 30 more years. I am willing to continue to pay high taxes now provided the government uses the surplus to reduce (and eliminate) our national debt.
I really want us to try our best to protect the environment that we live in. We (us humans) are having a huge impact on this world. We need to try to preserve and protect it has much as we can. I would really hate to see the Arctic National Wilderness opened up for oil exploration. (Granted, 7 to 10 years from now we could possibly need 6 to 8 months of extra fuel sources. Particularly, if we don't try to develop new technologies and fuel sources that don't have such hard environmental impacts as petroleum products do). It we opened it up to exploration it's only a matter of time before we begin to change the area (add roads, fences, logging, tourist stuff, etc.). Before we know it, it wouldn't be a wilderness at all. (I guess that's when we would rename it to a Park).
Finally, I believe in the separation of church and state. I don't believe in God in a biblical sense. I believe that all living things are special. Not just human kind. Hell, I even try not to step on spiders or other insects when I am outdoors (inside the house is another story). The outdoors is their home. Who am I to decide their fate when I am in their home? When I hear a politician say that they want to restore morality to this nation, I wonder whose morality-- theirs, mine, or someone else's. There are a basic set of rules (for lack of a better word) that most religions and societies require. These rules are good. Without them we would all perish in anarchy. But beyond those, I don't believe the government should direct a person’s behavior one way or another through legislation.
This presidential election is going to be a very important election for our society. I want to encourage you to really think about the issues that are important to you and your children. Think about the big issues, the things that are going to affect us for years to come. Then, select the candidate that you think would best lead our nation in the direction that fits your view. Maybe, just maybe, with all our views mixed together we can move into a future that is better for all living creatures.
Reed Peters