More Commonalities that We Probably Knew...

We may disagree on many things, but there's always the common denominator of the things we CAN agree on.....


We may disagree about how many troops should be overseas right now, but we can agree that we all want peace and don't want our friends and family being put in the middle of deadly wars.

We may disagree about how to create jobs and boost the economy, but we can agree that we want everyone that is able to work to have a job that allows them to take care of themselves and their families.

We may disagree about the details of education, but we can agree that we all want our children to have access to a world class education with teachers that really care about their students.

We may disagree about Obamacare, but we can agree that everyone should be covered under affordable insurance and have access to amazing doctors and technology.

We may disagree about how the deadlines and mandates put on businesses to produce clean energy, but we can all agree that we want to reduce emissions, reduce the price of energy, and create an environment that is sustainable and clean for the future generations.

We may disagree about a woman's choice and the choice of a baby inside a mother's womb, but we agree that the we need to work together to increase support & resources to reduce unintended pregnancies and ultimately lessen the number of abortions.

We may disagree about how the options become available to the poverty stricken families in our communities, but we can all agree that something needs to be done to help them find jobs that can support themselves and their families without having to depend on the government for aid.

We may disagree about the amount of money being used for the different governmental agencies, but we can all agree that the federal budget doesn't need to add to the already increasing debt.

We may disagree about the Second Amendment, but we can agree that we need to improve treatment for those with mental illness and screen people more effectively for allowing anyone to own a gun.

We may disagree on how the U.S. accomplishes international trade, but we can agree that there are so many benefits of trading with other countries and having access to a wide variety of goods.

We may disagree on how to handle immigration, but we can all agree that families should not be broken up by sending illegal immigrants back to their countries.

We may disagree on religious issues, but we can agree that the diversity of cultures and religions is what makes America different from many other countries.

We may disagree on how law enforcement is accomplished, but we can agree that there are some unnecessary laws that need reform and there are too many people in our prisons and jails right now.

We may disagree on the details of enforcing LGBT rights and equality, but we can agree that all human beings deserve love and respect.

There are SO many things that our country agrees on, but we are blinded by the planks in our own eyes that we don't see those things. Instead we dwell on our differences and our hate and our anger. We try and remove the specks out of our brothers' and sisters' eyes and convince them that our opinion is the only right one. The problem is that there is more than one answer to every single issue. If we look at each issue as something that we can all agree that needs to be resolved instead of having a "My Way or the Highway" attitude, I think we can become an even greater, stronger, and united nation. Let's act like the United States of America again!

The Presidential Debacle

I must preface this post by saying that I'm not a political guru. In fact, I kind of don't like politics and keeping up with current events. But, I refuse to be ignorant and uneducated when it comes to elections. So, I've been reading.... and reading and doing my best to carefully consider who I think will best represent our country, who will have our country's best interests in mind when creating and/or reconstructing policies, etc.

Guys... it's a TOUGH decision!

Before I even started reading through the issues on several presidential campaign websites, I was determined not to vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. To be fair though, I included them in on my research as I looked further into Gary Johnson (a former Republican, now Libertarian, whose running mate is/was a Democrat) and also Evan McMullin (a Republican who is running as an Independent).

Now, back to the candidates....

Let's start with Hillary Clinton. She has a lot of political experience that she'd be bringing to the table. I don't necessarily agree with her on a lot of issues, but I do respect the fact that she is a woman trying to move up in a field that is predominantly led by men. Here are few reasons that I won't be voting for her:

• Healthcare: She wants to continue with Obamacare. I think it's had an adverse effect on insurance companies and policyholders over the years that it has been implemented. Insurance premiums have gone up and it's really hard for low income families to afford insurance and still provide for their families. 
• Education: She aims to make college debt-free and increase funding for child care and early childhood programs. While in theory, this sounds good -- the reality is that the government will be going into debt to make this happen and/or financial resources would be cut in other areas of the federal budget. We need reform in education, not just money thrown on as a band-aid to try and fix problems.
• She plans to expand Medicaid. Again, while this sounds good in theory, the reality is that there are way too many people on Medicare, Medicaid, and other types of programs that I believe they need to be reformed, not just expanded. 
• Life: She supports late term abortions and is pro-choice. I hate to say that I kind of understand being pro-choice.... but that choice almost left me without every getting to meet my oldest child. I'm strongly pro-life -- in all aspects of life, not just unborn babies. There are so many other options. I think both parties need to work together to lower abortion rates.
• Trust/Honesty: I don't think it's good policy to lie to the American people about anything. When you're a politician, you need to be very transparent and honest. At this point, I'd be especially concerned about the safety of our troops stationed overseas.

I could go on.....

Next, there's Donald Trump. He seems to be doing something right as a business man despite filing for bankruptcy multiple times and being a man of sub par character. My opinion (based on numerous articles) is that he's been successful by manipulating people via bribery, smooth talking, and scare tactics. I do agree with him on a lot of the issues though and he seems to be saying all the right things, but ..... I don't know that I can trust him. He used to be very liberal on a lot of issues and it seems suspicious that all of a sudden, he's changed his mind and aligns himself with the Republican Party. Also, I don't believe that his character or his morals would be a good representation for the United States of America. Other countries are even worried about him being in power and I don't think they'd take Trump seriously. 

Knowing that I didn't feel comfortable with the top two choices, I had settled on looking further into Gary Johnson. To be honest, I was swimming in foreign waters. What's a Libertarian? How are they different from Republicans and Democrats? After reading, I learned that Johnson had been in the running as a Republican during the 2012 Presidential Race. He was also a Republican governor that did a lot of great things in New Mexico with balancing their budget, etc. His stance on a lot of issues align with the Republican Party, but slightly more moderate. The biggest difference is that Libertarians believe in small government -- so he tends to favor a woman's right to choose (although, he is against late term abortions), wants to cut military funding, and would be in favor of legalizing marijuana. There are definitely some good things that come from the local government making decisions, but I can also see it making the country even more divided on issues. It also leaves our country less protected and allows other countries (potentially dangerous countries) to rise up and become world leaders. Again, I see myself aligning better with the Republican party.....

It was only a few weeks ago that I had even heard of Evan McMullin. He joined the race as a last ditch effort to hopefully dethrone Trump and shake up the election, more specifically the Republican Party. His goal is to win Utah and prevent both Trump and Clinton from receiving the 270 electoral votes (the minimum required to become president). Now, if this happens, the final vote would be determined by the House of Representatives using the top three candidates in the election. Technically, Gary Johnson is in the same sort of boat, but I don't know if he has great enough of a following in any specific state for him to win a state. It's really a long shot for either of them, but if David was able to defeat Goliath with the help of God, I believe that anything is possible.

Now, Evan McMullin doesn't have a ton of political experience or experience in balancing a budget, etc. However, he does have a background in working with other countries while he was a CIA agent, he has a good moral compass, and I agree with him almost 100% on the issues that he outlined on his website. He doesn't want to just throw money at issues, but has ideas to reform and resolve problems within our economic and education systems. His plans include ways to make us more financially accountable on a state and individual level. 

The dilemma I have is that many conservatives are going against their best judgement to vote for Trump just to keep Hillary out of office. The Republicans didn't have any other choices and McMullin came into the race a little late so I have no idea how well he'll do. It sounds like he's making headway in Utah though. So that's good! 

Now..... Do I vote my conscience or do I vote strategically? Is there even a chance that Johnson or McMullin could win WI? Probably not. But, if either of them did, that'd disrupt the electoral college, making it a better chance for the vote to go to the House. I really don't want Hillary to win, but I really don't want Trump either. The struggle is real.

Praying that others will be as diligent in studying up on our future leaders. Now... on to reading more about the state and local candidates.....