Voting Our Values

The presidential election of 2012 presents us with a clear choice. What values do we want America to represent? Yes, we need jobs. But do we want our nation to be run solely as a business with corporations seen as people and with the race for more possessions as our focus?

Or do we want to create a compassionate community with actual human beings caring for one another? Do we want our care to include or exclude our Gay brothers and sisters and our immigrants? Or do we want to forget our own off shore origins and our own struggles for acceptance?

Women fought long and hard for the right to vote and the right to be treated fairly and equally with men. Do women want to give up control over their own bodies? Do women want a say in how they are treated in the workplace and in their homes?

We have been and are a prosperous nation. Do we pile our abundance ever higher with greed or do we give every citizen the chance at a healthy life by providing all with health care? Will we give a hand up to our poor, our homeless and our elderly? Will we put educating our children and honoring Mother Earth at the top of our list?

Will we reach out and be part of a community of world leaders, respecting others' cultural differences? Or will the United States become an autocratic country, telling other nations they must play by our rules or else? Will diplomacy and cooperation win out over conflict/military escalation?

What values do we want to teach our children? What kind of world do we want to live in? Voting gives each of us a voice.

© 2012

Are We Better Off?

The primary question of this election season is “Am I better off in 2012?” Jogging my memory back to the years between 2004 through 2008, I remember President George Bush neglecting one war, and, without true provocation, getting us into another war. Bush started his first term with a debt-free budget, and at the end of his second term, we were at least a trillion dollars in debt. Being the proud parent of a lesbian daughter, I never felt that a welcome mat was placed outside the Bush White House for her. Our LGBTQ soldiers were fighting in these wars for a beloved country who told them to keep their authentic selves hidden. Discrimination towards women in the work place was being ignored. Broad tax cuts were initiated for the wealthiest Americans while ignoring the right that all our citizens have access to health care.

When Obama was elected President I told my daughter: “Now I can give you a future.” But change is rarely a snap, especially when a country is going through economic hardship. True change takes time. But despite a mountain of political obstacles, Obama has kept many of his promises: He has gotten us out of the Iraqi war and will get us out of Afghanistan during his second term. He has given our LGBTQ soldiers dignity and respect by getting rid of Don't Ask Don't Tell. The White House welcomes my daughter as a treasured American citizen with all the rights of every other American citizen. One of the first acts Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Act against discrimination in the workplace for women. Obama tackled the economy through financial regulation and auto/teacher/fireman job saving and job creation. He managed to pass a Health Care Law that needs some revision but will guarantee all a healthier life, including my 23 year old daughter.

Here in Oregon I travel by men and women working daily on our highways and bridges; I see construction workers revitalizing our downtown; I applaud the Occupy Movement for waking us up to our homeless/poverty problems and their drive for more permanent homeless transition camps and low cost/free health clinics. Obama knows that as a country we have a long way to go politically, economically and morally: The rich absolutely need to pay their fair share; we need to decrease poverty and homelessness; our economy can't take a new war in Iran. I'm not sure Romney gets it. Am I better off? With an intelligent, thoughtful, compassionate President who is fighting for my daughter, myself, our soldiers, our lower and middle classes, our children, you bet I am. Please vote!

© 2012