Joe From Texas is frequently asked by people with whom he speaks to if it makes a difference if they vote. They tell him that they don’t trust Democrats, Republicans, the media, Biden, Trump, and/or many other politicians who are constantly in the news. They believe the entire system is a corrupt system filled with corrupt people and that their vote will not change anything.
Although Joe From Texas does not dismiss all of these concerns, he tells them that they have two choices. If they are happy with the way things currently are in our country, they can choose not to vote and expect more of the same. However, if they are unhappy with the way things are then they should get out and vote to give themselves and their fellow citizens some relief. Although Biden is not on the ballot this year, his party - the Democrats, are in power in congress. A vote to remove them from power will bring some relief from some of the bad policies causing our current problems. By voting for change, you can give yourself and your fellow citizens a break from some of the current misery.
Polls show that the majority of Americans believe that our country is headed in the wrong direction. This is no surprise when we consider some of the things that have been happening in the U.S. over the last couple of years. The following is a partial, but by no means complete list of some of our current problems:
➢ Inflation has been eating away at the paychecks of Americans, resulting in all of us having to pay more for necessities, such as food.
➢ Bad policies from Biden have resulted in high prices for gas and electricity, further eroding the buying power of the average American.
➢ Our southern border is wide open with people entering the country illegally in record numbers. The Democrats in power have done nothing to stop it and, in fact, have done little but encourage it.
➢ Crime is out of control and the Democrats, many of whom cheered on the riots of 2020 and called for defunding the police, do nothing to try to stop it.
➢ Record numbers of people are dying from drug overdoses, and most of those drugs are coming into the U.S. through our southern border.
➢ In many school districts across the country, our children are being indoctrinated by things such as critical race theory and transgenderism. In addition, they get to hear about things like “birthing people” and they are taught how to use genderless pronouns. Parents learned of these things, became concerned, and began to take action. What was the response of the Democrats when parents in some parts of the country showed up at school board meetings to make their views on these things heard? The Justice Department explored the idea of labeling these parents as “domestic terrorists.”
Joe From Texas admires those parents because their willingness to stand up for their children resulted in change. It has resulted in many “woke” school board members being defeated and, in at least one state (Virginia), their activism translated into change in that state’s Governor and other statewide offices during their state elections last year. If there is one thing that Joe From Texas could get you to take away from reading this, it would be that he hopes you take a page out of the playbook of these parents. Although they each individually walked into a voting booth to make that change, they also worked with like-minded individuals and together they were able to influence elections in a way that political pundits did not believe possible two months before election day.
We all know that our country is not perfect; however, Joe From Texas believes that, despite our imperfections, this is the greatest country ever known to man. We are made up of peace-loving people, but our history dictates that we have always been willing to fight for freedom and against tyranny. Ours is a history of courage, not cowardice. Although we are not in a war with any other nation at present, there is a battle taking place for the soul of our nation. We must all be courageous soldiers in this battle and use our vote as our weapon. The only thing standing between a tyrannical dark future and a bright future with freedom and prosperity is the vote that each of us gets to cast at election time.
Our vote has been bought and paid for with the blood of American soldiers throughout our history, yet we too often take it for granted. If you care about yourself, your family, and your friends, Joe From Texas believes that you have more than just a right to vote. He believes you also have an obligation to vote.
If you are tempted to believe that things are too far gone for your vote to make a difference, try thinking about it in a new way. Suppose a house is on fire near your home and the fire department is called out. The firefighters, who are told that no one is in the house, assess the situation and agree that it looks bad. Although they are not sure how much good they can do, duty requires that they make sure there is no one in the house and that they do their best to put out the fire. After entering the house, they find a woman unconscious and they are able to rescue her. Because they went forward when things looked bleak, they were able to save a life. Like the firefighters, you may look at our country right now and think that things look very bleak; however, if we carry out our duty to vote, we may see a positive result that is beyond anything we can currently imagine.
When you look in the mirror each morning, remember that the future of our country is dependent upon the person staring back at you. Your vote is the way you influence the future.
Some random thoughts from Joe From Texas:
Joe From Texas believes the top priority of our government should be to put this country and the citizens of this country above every other concern. Although we do have a leadership role to play in the world, we should always have policies that put America first. If you have ever flown, then you have heard flight attendants describe how in the event of an emergency, you should put your oxygen mask on before trying to help someone else. This is because you are of no use to anyone if you are not on your game. The same thing is true for our country. When we take care of ourselves first, then we are able to help other countries and people around the world.
We too often make voting a popularity contest rather than a policy contest. Although Joe From Texas is happy when he has the opportunity to vote for someone he likes, his many years of experience have taught him that the most important thing upon which to base his vote is where candidates stand on the issues. If given the choice between someone with a good personality but bad policies or a bad personality with good policies, he will vote for the good policies 100% of the time.
The elites of both parties are responsible for the current mess in our country. When Joe From Texas was starting his career, Republicans were considered the elites and they were often called “Country Club Republicans.” Back in those days, white-collar workers generally voted Republican, while those considered to be blue-collar workers generally voted Democrat. However, the last several years have brought about changes in these dynamics. Increasingly, Democrats are more supported by elites on college campuses, on Wall Street, and in corporate leadership, while Republicans are increasingly being supported by working men and women. Elected Democrats seem to be dug in on their elitist policies. Republicans still have a few elitists; however, the Republican Party seems to be adapting by producing more populist candidates who see their role as standing up for small businesses and working men and women. If the Democrats don’t turn from their elitist ways, in a few years they will find themselves to be a party without a people.
Cancel culture is a cancer on our society. The way Joe From Texas defines cancel culture is an effort by elitists to exert social pressure on anyone who does not agree with them. They generally do this by “cancelling” people on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media. The only reason this issue is being mentioned is because it is political. Anyone on the right, and sometimes even the left, who makes a statement that self-appointed gate keepers of left-wing ideology don’t agree with could be a target. Unfortunately, Democrat politicians, who claim to be open-minded and representative of “big-tent” ideas seldom, if ever, speak out against cancel culture.
Joe From Texas has read the Bill of Rights and he missed the line about the right to not be offended. Perhaps that is because there is no such right. Despite this, we constantly hear people whine about how someone is devastated because they were offended by this or that. Don’t misunderstand, Joe From Texas believes in the golden rule that we should all treat others the way that we would like to be treated. However, the bottom line is that there always has been and always will be people who are rude, crude, and socially unacceptable. Whining about them is not going to change a thing.
Joe From Texas admires honest people who work hard in our free enterprise system to make more money to improve the lives of their families. However, he has a big problem with politicians who use their influence to get rich. Joe From Texas does not believe politicians should profit from public service, this is why he believes we should limit the terms of Congressmen and Senators. He has no problem with people pursuing wealth; however, he believes they should do so on their own time and not the public’s time.