This blog is a little off the beaten path for my page, but I believe it relevant in spirit.  As with athletes and voting, sometimes its not because you want to do it…its akin to doing the right thing because it IS the right thing.  Nothing more, nothing less.

I really enjoy the presidential election cycles.  It is the one time that I listen pretty exclusively and almost non-stop to the political news channels…for both sides and those in the middle.  I especially like those news channels that are raw and edgy.  Those that provide a perspective that is a LOT less main stream.  This is a ritual that started for me when then Senator Barack Obama made his first run for president in 2008. It is where I find out whats is considered politically news-worthy and research it myself.  I look at the candidates, listen to their battle cries, assess their followers, laugh at their faux-pas, and view their hi-jinks in stark, startled amazement.  And now with my new-found love,  satellite radio, I can be amused, entertained and angered in my beloved truck “Smoosh”.  Woohoo!

But seriously…

For those registered voters who are vowing to not vote for Hillary or  not to get on the “Trump Train”, or who plan to “Feel the Bern” and write in Bernie Sanders or Mickey Mouse, Lebron James, Prince, Michael Jackson or your pet as your vote for the highest office in the country… I implore you to reign in your righteous indignation, and THINK for just a minute. Now is the time to be smart and band together instead of further segregating and polarizing ourselves (choice of wording intentional). For EVERYONE, it is a time for banning together behind a cause, if not necessarily the candidate or the party. Because, without fail, one of the primary political parties will ultimately have control of the government.

Bernie supporters…if he is not going to win the nomination, he probably will not win if you write him in…make your vote count. Voting for a candidate that doesn’t have a chance a winning is the equivalent of possibly handing the election to the very person that you REALLY don’t want to have it.

Bush, Carson, Christy, Cruz, Kasich, Rubio, et. al supporters, same for you… Now is the time to evaluate the hand that we are dealt: Hillary or Trump.  Get on board or jump ship, the choice is yours and those are your options.  Your candidate did not get the nomination.

Politicians have plans and agendas that we don’t like. They say what we want to hear, then do something completely different.  They insight our passion or our ire, but they do insight us!  Insert your passion(s) here_______________________. Decide for yourself (scientific or not-so-much) who you believe will put your most passionate beliefs at the forefront of their presidency, and one who will uphold our legacy and reputation as a FREE UNITED STATES to the best of his/her ability. Decide who that person is, AND THEN GO VOTE!  I hear you saying “None of them do it for me.”  But one has to get closer than the other.  Find something that you can rally behind in the candidate and go for it!

At the end of the day, our decisions today and in November, affect the lives of generations to come. Let’s make a smart decision and protect the legacy of the United States. The smart decision for all is to MAKE OUR VOTE COUNT.

When it’s all boiled down and you step to the voting machine, it is about your gut. What does your gut say about how this Democrat, Independent, Other or Republican, is going to treat YOUR country, YOUR state, YOUR city, and finally YOU and YOUR family if he/she is elected.

And you, my friend, are the vital key to the entire process…Your one singular vote, your gut decision, will help to seat the next president of the United States. Your vote is a private discussion with yourself. This discussion is both a privilege and a burden. A discussion that, I believe, my readers will embrace as a privilege without hardship or grievance.

#DNAonPoint