Time Out for an Important Message

Like you, I love my country. I love that my life is easier here than it would be if I lived anywhere else on this earth. I love the freedoms I enjoy -- the freedom to speak my mind without fear of being imprisoned for my opinions, the freedom to travel throughout the country without restraint, the freedom to worship my God in the way I choose, the freedom to gather uninhibited with other people, the freedom to take part in the political process that chooses who will lead and govern my city, my county, my state and my country. And many more freedoms do we all enjoy on a daily basis.

There was a time when I was too busy to really get involved in the political process, but nonetheless did what I could to educate myself about the candidates and issues and voted my conscience. In recent years, I've paid much more attention, and have even served in various capacities in our precinct. For one thing, our freedoms are being eroded line by line, here a little, there a little. Perhaps age has given me a perspective I didn't have before, and I can see where we seem to be headed as a country. And it concerns me deeply.

So here we are, just 5 days away from "Super Tuesday", a day when 23 states will hold their primary elections (or caucuses in some states). These states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia. Rules may vary somewhat from state to state as to how this process is carried out, but I believe in most, if not all states, you have to have registered to vote in a certain time frame before the election. This information is available on-line by looking at your state's website for Elections information.

I know that many of the people who might wander onto this blog are busy with young families and other responsibilities. Those duties are most important, and precious, and timely. But I hope that you will make the time to get out and vote on Tuesday if your primary will be held then, and if it isn't, find out when it will be, and vote then. The bottom line is -- at least to my way of thinking -- is that the primary elections are every bit as important, if not more so, than the general election in November. This is the election that determines who your party's candidate will be.

Ok, that's the most important part. But something else -- and I'm going to stick my neck out here -- I'm conservative. I believe in less government involvement in the lives of citizens. I believe that we as individuals should be as self-sufficient as possible and not surrender our freedom to our government by taking handouts from them. I also believe there are times when some of us need government help, and that is ok. The candidates who are selected as the potential president of our country have very different approaches to government. Select wisely. Your future, and the future of your children is at stake.