Why even bother to vote? Because...

I seriously considered leaving some of the elections positions blank on my ballot - thinking that I didn't want to be held accountable for choosing either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton as our next president.

But beyond being a cop-out, I remembered that an Election Volunteer in Florida was caught filling in her own choice when opening early ballots with no vote. I realized I HAD to choose.

There is not a way to avoid responsibility for voting, because NOT CHOOSING was literally allowing some random person to choose for me instead - whether it is an unethical elections volunteer or someone else who voted when I did not.

I remembered living in Mexico and having as a hostess someone who counted ballots during their elections. Mexico requires citizens to vote, at least they did then in order to get certain privileges. But they also allowed for write in candidates - or people did it anyway. "For decades," she explained "Su mama came in first place, Mickey Mouse came in second place, then the incumbent party's candidate came in third. but the first two were never announced." I suddenly understand!

I am not suggesting you vote for a Disney character or someone's mother, but I am suggesting there are other choices...though a third party candidate or a write-in likely is a throw away vote.


So I will choose based not on the person on the presidential line of the ballot, or even for the political party, but for who I would like to be nominating the next three Supreme Court Judges, and therefore likely affecting our country's future not for four years, but for decades.

"All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD." Proverbs 16:2

Why do I place this verse on this blog post? Because making good choices are NOT always easy. And not choosing IS choosing. So in every difficult situation, pray, seek what is right, and be accountable to no one but God. That, indeed, may even be harder than knowing who to vote for in this election, but we are held to a higher standard and a higher power than the President of the United States...One who is not limited in how He is able to acts...not even by the winner of an election. 



Be Blessed My Purposeful People, Heather J. Kirk
Wearable Art - Heather J Kirk's VIDA Collection: http://shopvida.com/collections/heather-j-kirk Art by Heather J. Kirk http://heather-kirk.pixels.com and http://AEC.pixels.com Literature by Heather J. Kirk http://www.photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books.html

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How sex plays a role in this election (and probably not what you were thinking)

Part  II of my little "We DO get what we want" election series.
How sex plays a role in this election
(and probably not what you were thinking)

If  you read yesterday's post, you know what I think of the choices we have made as our party representatives for President, so I will just start with ... And finally (well not finally, but I've had enough) ...

Why are we surprised that there are some powerful men (including a presidential candidate and a candidate's husband)?:
1. Have a history of (or history of accusations of) objectifying women;
2. Would try to avoid talking about it; and
3. Have women in their lives who stand by them.

We are also oddly surprised that some women who have been objectified or used sexually:
1. Would not come forward right away;
2. Would only do so years later and in the safety of numbers;
3. Had even possibly hoped to get something out of it - whether defensively, like keeping their jobs, or actively in hopes of getting ahead.

Neither of these should be a surprise when our culture is shockingly full of women competing and begging for male attention, or attempting to get ahead in life using their sexuality - I mean that's what advertisements and pop culture (music videos, concerts, movies, TV, news stories)  try to teach us in necessary, isn't it?

Of course in real life many women (even most, go figure) actually get ahead by being smart, talented and educated, having connections, friends and determination. But at the same time, perhaps because of wanting a dream at all costs, or the economy making it hard to get a job, or single motherhood and costs of childcare, or inequitable pay for equal work, or pressure by a boss to give in or keep quiet, and many other reasons...some women may feel they need to do whatever it takes to get or keep a job.


Many women know that it means pretending not to notice a brush of a hand against a body part, or competing with coworkers for the bosses attention in ways that may put other women down.

And then whether they fit that stereotype or not - women who are groped or assaulted or even have sex because they feel it is required, or at least very helpful, to keep their jobs, fail to come forward for fear of being blamed or not being believed.

So again I say this is, at least in part, our own fault.

We apparently think it is okay to have Victoria Secret's fashion shows on TV, with commercials running during prime time family programs. We let our girls wear short shorts because they insist their friends are. We take or send them to concerts with women wearing hardly anything, or men simulating sex on stage. We tell our adult friends to suck it up at work or dress hotter or go ahead and have that affair with the boss - it will be worth it. And so on...

We say boys will be boys. Men don't call their friend's on their behavior because they don't want to be seen as wooses or 'homos" or disloyal to the "male race". We say our athletes, movie starts or musicians wouldn't "need" to pay or force women to have sex. We shut our eyes when we see women who are repeatedly 'walk into doorknobs". And so on... 

Why then are we surprised that we are all messed up sexually as a nation.

Oh, some of you think I've gone too far now... And why? Because I've stopped talking about the candidates and slipped into what we accept as acceptable...or do nothing about. Because I am saying that we explain away too often others behaviors by saying 'to each his own'.

So, if you want to get back to the candidates, fine. One is a wealthy powerful man who many women have come forward to say they were treated like a piece of meat or sexually assaulted. One's husband, as President of the United States, used his power and position to manipulate at least one young female intern, and paid off several lawsuits to keep other women quiet. And this candidate did not appear to hold him accountable. Or her own ambition was great enough to stick with him anyway.

So in my opinion, the lesser of two evils is a terrible way to choose, but at least one has not already played a role in defiling the Oval Room.

What women rightly long for is spiritual and moral initiative from a man, not spiritual and moral domination.- John Piper, Chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary

Blessings to My Purposeful People, Heather J. Kirk

Wearable Art - Heather J Kirk's VIDA Collection: http://shopvida.com/collections/heather-j-kirk
Art by Heather J. Kirk http://heather-kirk.pixels.com and http://AEC.pixels.com
Literature by Heather J. Kirk http://www.photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books.html

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If our nation has chosen what we admire then the only answer is to humble ourselves

If it's true that a nation can suffer the consequences for the things that we as a whole have done, we are getting what we deserve. Too many people I know feel they have not even "the lesser of two evils" as a choice for President, but no choice. And to be honest in other political positions as well. But WE DID CHOOSE, and we chose these. (Some may say they voted for someone else in the primary... then divided we fall.)

Let me say also that it is not just in the Presidential race that we have a lack of great choices, but it seems to be exaggerated there. We need to ask ourselves overall what have our votes (or the choice to not vote) brought us?

How true is this? "When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, But when a wicked person rules, people groan"Proverbs 29:2

In our Presidential candidates we chose pridefulness. We chose those who have had both great success and great failure (though the truth is a willingness to take chances and fail often comes along with anyone who has achieved much - still a President is not the place to be taking too many chances.) We chose people with lack of facial control - and negotiations and leading a nation requires that every thought that passes through one's mind does not show up in a laugh or a smirk. We have people who shirk responsibility. We have people whose staff or supporters keep getting in trouble, being fired, or leaving of their own accord.And when I just did a spellcheck on the word pridefullness because of a red line under it, the option it gave me was 'spitefulness,' and yes, we chose that too.


And if you disagree that you chose these qualities or people, then...if we have not gotten what we have chosen, then we have gotten what we have allowed.

IF you are still saying that YOU did not choose this, others did, then oddly you are part of the problem. The solution takes accepting the situation as it is and problem solving, deciding what to do about it, what to do differently now and next time. And we can only change what we feel we have some power over!


It is not just at the voter's booth ALONE that we are responsible. We must take the blame for our own actions, and yes, also for our nation's action as a very large group of individuals.  It is made up of a lot of "ME's". What have my (our) actions created in our families, in our communities? What have my (our) actions allowed to go on around us? Are we guilty of pride, deceitfulness, greed, putting our own needs above others needs, disrespecting others with our word and the looks we give, the way we roll our eyes. We often are very lenient on others guilty of the same sins as our own. And then we get what we get...in our own lives, and in our nation.

And if all else fails, we need to pray! As I write that I think that perhaps therein lies the problem - at least mine - we wait to pray until all else fails, and we have created a complete mess. 

So is there any hope? 


Only by humbling ourselves. Only by turning form the things we already know in our hearts are wrong, With humility and asking forgiveness we can obtain from God a goodness and mercy that we do not deserve but receive anyway out of love.


So late in the game, all we can count on is a MIRACLE - and I say that in full sincerity.  Maybe the miracle will be that neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton win the Presidency, but that, of course, is not likely. Yet the concept of miracles does not imply 'likelihood', it implies 'impossible without supernatural intervention'. But still, the miracle we may have to count on is to be surprised that God is able to work in our nation for our individual and national good through, or in spite of, whoever WE (yes we) vote in as 45th President of the United States.


"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
2 Chronicles 7:14 

Who are "my people"? The verse implies God's people. but we are 'one nation under God" who have received favor for a long time. A perfect country? of course not, we are made up of people...but a humble nation chooses, and deserves, better than a prideful people!

Be Blessed My Purposeful People, Heather J. Kirk
 
Wearable Art - Heather J Kirk's VIDA Collection: http://shopvida.com/collections/heather-j-kirk
Art by Heather J. Kirk http://heather-kirk.pixels.com and http://AEC.pixels.com
Literature by Heather J. Kirk http://www.photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books.html

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A surprising number of articles comes up with the search "Is a third party candidate viable for President in 2016?"

I couldn't think of another word for 'viable,' for what I wanted to say. And although I have been recently unhappy with Google search results that now seem to favor ads and 'reviews' by anyman, a surprising number of articles comes up with the search "Is a third party candidate viable for President in 2016?"

I will choose one to comment on here because it too surprised me by going more in depth into the difficulties of overcoming a two- party system, where that system comes from, and interesting psychological studies. Finally, the writer found sound changes a-brewing!

The source is Newsweek on-line:  Why Third-Party Candidates Are Doomed—At Least This Year
By Emily Cadei On 6/1/16 at 12:31 PM  (http://www.newsweek.com/third-party-candidate-2016-465342)

I know, the title doesn't exactly ooze with optimism...nor does it have my word 'viable'. And it's long, but worth finishing, as there is more and more information, instead of more and more repetition (another pet peeve of mine as of late).

One item that is an aside, but surprised me is that Democrats tend to be more urban and Republicans more rural. I guess the bias I have is where I personally come from rather than where the parties as a whole come from, but it is interesting in the context that the stances of the parties, over the long term, have 'switched' several times. The most obvious, and seemingly forgotten, that it was the Republican Party that fought for the abolition of slavery, and the Democratic Governor Wallace of Alabama who set the fire hoses and dogs on Martin Luther King and his partners in non-violence was a Democrat. And now many people of color consider it the Democratic party that speaks for and represents them. With surprising voting choices of both parties in these primaries, perhaps some kind of change is in the not so distant future.

Let me throw out another aside from PBS's American Experience - George Wallace both started out and ended as a "Liberal" embracing integration, but saw it wouldn't win during the Civil Rights era. An opportunist? A Flip flopper? Who knows,but in a history I NEVER heard about, he apologized to African Americans - after an assassination attempt and partial paralysis - and got much of their vote. WOW!   People and Events: George Wallace  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wallace/peopleevents/pande05.html

Back to the original article commentary by yours truly. Much of voter behavior decision making is tied to a combination of WINNING and SELF - ESTEEM and not what is best for the country overall. They never use the term 'voting your conscience,' possibly because, so the research goes, it rarely happens because psychologically, and especially in more polarized environments - like now - there is a fear of throwing votes away. How 'sad' that my own conscience repeatedly has tossed away votes, apparently in a psychologically aberrant manner with no regard for my own esteem, LOL!

The following paragraphs all the way near the end stood out as really saying something new and indicate and exciting movement! first a process is described that could get us at least not 'afraid' to throw away a vote, and instead vote more with what we believe, or at the very least against what makes us uncomfortable (or cringe). I confess to not being a huge consumer of news, but the following does not seem to be out there and known. In fact even in ths article it is way at the end. Yet, promising for the future.

"There are changes afoot to break down some of these barriers at the state and local level. Cities like Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota; San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley California, now select some local officials via  what’s known as “rank choice voting,” where each voter ranks their top three choices for an office, and if no candidate win a majority of first choice votes on the first ballot, then the number of second and possibly third choices are added in, until someone reaches a majority. That eliminates the concern about “wasting” a vote on an independent candidate, because if they lose in the first round, your votes goes to your second choice pick."

What is nice is that it is not just a 'concept" but being tried in a few places, though not enough to make a difference in 2016.

 "This November, Maine will vote on a ballot initiative that would implement rank choice voting statewide. California, meanwhile, has begun using a nonpartisan voting system for state and congressional contests, in which the top two finishers in the primary, regardless of party, compete in the general election. Other states, like Louisiana, hold run-off elections for state office if no candidate wins a majority in the first round."

The ultimate conclusion is probably true, but not to my liking (do I confess to much...this constant vote thower-wayer?).  "“I think that the dam will break at a certain point,” says Ritchie. “I don’t think it will do it this year.”

Even if the change does not come about this year, perhaps the unhappiness with the results of the current two-party powerhouse, or the surprising power of the supposed outliers (Sanders and Trump), will be exactly what is needed to make the change happen in the future.

The HUGE question seems to be WHO for a third party candidate. Here is my choice, and although she has said she would never run, Condoleezza Rice fits, NoTrump, Bush Money (I know, not necessarily a good thing to be tied to his Presidency and policies), strong foreign policy experience, Conservative Republican with Female and African American as leaven in the bread of hope. How can we convince her to give up that darn “NEVER”.  (A quick Google search says I am not alone in this hope!)

P.S. A resource that goes more into detail on the specifics of trying to create another valid candidate outside of the two party system, even given the green and Libertarian parties existence.

Sorry, Conservatives, It’s Likely Too Late for a Viable Third-Party Candidate. Here's why.
By Carl Zeitz,March 17, 2016 from Politico Magazine www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/03/2016-donald-trump-third-party-213743  

And for a FASCINATING (yet complex) out of the box thinking sayin it IS possible, let's look to The Federalist, though this article is a little older and may no longer be as valid,These Numbers Say A Third Party Can Win The Presidency by Josiah Peterson  http://thefederalist.com/2016/05/16/these-numbers-say-a-third-party-can-win-the-presidency/

Heather J. Kirk
Art by Heather J. Kirk www.heather-kirk.artistwebsites.com
Literature by Heather J. Kirk http://www.photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books.html