Voting Day

Lets not cast our ballot for just anyone.

Sorry, but I am interrupting Pumpkin Week...

It's voting day, have you voted yet?  So what does voting have to do with provident living?  There are many issues involved each election, many of which can impact our personal finances, employment, food supply etc. Elder Robert D. Hales defines self reliance as "Preparing for the ups and downs of life".  Our right to vote can greatly affect those ups and downs.  Keeping our heads in the sand is not a good practice, we need to have our heads up and looking around.

I hear all the time that our vote for President does little to affect anything.  While the argument can be made either way, I feel we still need to cast our vote.

There are elections where we can have real impact, both on the election but on it's direct affect on us.  Our local elections are where we can affect change, preserve rights and freedoms, and prepare for the future.  Recently I was talking with an friend and he informed me that a local city of 5000 people typically only has about 500-1000 voters showing up on local issues. It would take very little effort in those campaigns to get change the political landscape.

We can make real changes locally and on the state levels.  But we need to become at least informed enough to know something about each of the people on the ballot.  I can't tell you how many times I have looked at the names on a ballot and had no clue as to who was the best option or who shared my same ideals.  Too often those votes are just cast where ever rather than making an informed vote.  I have been bad at this, this year I have realize my folly and will be at least informed going forth if not involved too.

I feel beyond just our efforts to provide service to our communities, we need to be involved in who is running our communities.