January 14, 2008 | Mama Smith
the race
I’ve been somewhat following the race this year and trying to keep up with the candidates, but it often gets murky and I loose interest quickly keeping up with who stands where…with all the snotty noses I have to wipe and moldy food I have to scrape off the floor. Time and important issues pass me by before I can grab on to them.
Talking to other mothers, I feel most of us are in that spot. But we want to care. Knowing that this candidate will be around for 4…if not 8 years. Well into our young kiddos growing, learning, maturing years.
Enter the Glassbooth…
My brother sent me this link to the Glassbooth where you can select the issues most important to you and take a quiz that comes up with a rough sketch of what top three candidates you might align with. I was a bit shocked at my number 1 spot, filled by Mike Gravel – who I’m ashamed to say – I wasn’t even all that familiar with, but who, according to this quiz, I supposedly agree the most with?! I’m not exactly sure about that, especially after researching more about him this afternoon. Not as thrown by the number two spot being Obama, but completely floored that Hillary Clinton filled my number three spot. My brother, a Ron Paul-ian, would be mortified. Although he’ll find out soon enough after reading these :) Sorry John!
If you’re still trying to figure out where you stand on certain issues and what candidates you’re most interested in, this might be an interesting spot for you to at least start sorting some of it out. The questions have wikipedia links to topics that you may want to research further or learn a bit more about.
Hope this helps some of you all…if nothing else, maybe to start the fire under your bootie to get interested. And figure out who the heck Mike Gravel is and why you probably won’t end up voting for him, in my case :)
Danielle Versluys said,
Amy… the Supreme Court candidates that this president picks will be around for upwards of 50 or 60 years, and then the decisions the justices make will stick around for 100+ years and have significant effect upon many aspects of life in the United States and our children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren’s future. No pressure.
amy smith said,
So I’m assuming I should take that as a sarcastic “no pressure” :)
You are very right, Danielle. The future president will make an impact on our country and world far beyond the time they are in office. Thank you for that reminder.
In regards to the feedback I’ve gotten on this post, I just have to say that I do hope my readers – mostly stressed, exhausted moms :) – will more than anything feel encouraged by this post to begin looking into candidates that they feel stand for the values they believe in, rather than pressured or guilted into it. We have enough of that as moms. And if you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know how deeply I struggle with that and need to daily find rest in the truth that it is Christ leading my life, through the good decisions and my all-too-often messy mistakes.
I do believe that our votes make a difference and we should be wise about who we align with, but personally I also believe that regardless of who we put in office, he (or she) will be a sinner just like the rest of us, who will make good decisions and bad decisions…just like the rest of us. And that ultimately God is the one writing the story of my life, of our country and of the world and he ultimately is the one leading us. Through the brave, powerful moments and through the broken, deeply painful ones.
Danielle Versluys said,
That was a most resoundingly sarcastic “no pressure”!
In fact, the entire comment was tongue-in-cheek… as if we don’t have enough on our plates, we also are expected to make educated choices at the polls, since, after all, the future of our children (etc.!) hangs in the balance. :-)
Personally, I’ve come up with an excellent way to avoid unnecessary pressure and guilt at election time.
When I walk into the voting booth, I just close my eyes and stab the paper.
Now that was definitely sarcasm.
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