It’s almost over – or is it?
By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist
Early voting has started in many states, including Ohio and Georgia. I voted today. I have told you who I was going to vote for weeks ago, and I did it.
Both sides accuse the other of lying – and worse. You have probably made up your mind how you are going to vote, like I have, no matter what has been said recently.
If you haven’t decided, there are a couple of things to consider.
Do you want a government that coddles and regulates you, or do you want a government that allows you to the freedom to be yourself (pro-abortion people, don’t bother to respond)?
In my lifetime, I have seen life in the United States become ever more regulated, controlled and taxed when it comes to day-to-day activities. When it comes to activities that tend to harm people, such as gambling, “recreational drugs,” and so forth, life has become looser and looser.
Have you walked through a casino lately? Have you seen the blank stares there and the poorly dressed patrons? Have you stood in line in the convenience store while people buy lottery tickets? Legalized gambling is the most regressive tax in the country.
Fifty-five years ago, we had a thriving adoption policy in this country. Now, we are worried about births dropping below the replenishment level and using that concern as an excuse for letting people in the country illegally.
Well, we have aborted over 63 million people since Roe v. Wade. That number more than makes up for the drop in replenishment levels.
Our parents and grandparents had it right in terms of life’s guardrails and freedoms. Since the 1960s, we have made a mess of things.
So, if you haven’t voted yet, ponder this: What would your great-grandmother tell you to do?
Would she be wrong? If so, why?
Regarding is it almost over, I fear it isn’t. Lawyers are already out all over the place filing suits and getting rulings as to matters related to the election.
I doubt that an election decision will be resolved anytime on Nov. 5, 6, or perhaps even Nov. 7.
And should the election be dragged out in the courts, bitterness and division will only get worse than it is already.
So, are you ready to accept the vote results, no matter what they are?
The stock market has already decided the election makes no difference – it has been on a tear since about Sept. 10. This tells me, and pundits that know a lot more than me, that Wall Street has dismissed the election as a non-event.
In a little over two weeks now, we will begin to get some answers.
Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press.
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Comment
Pot meet Kettle
Jim, in response to your question: Do you want a government that coddles and regulates you, or do you want a government that allows you to the freedom to be yourself (pro-abortion people, don’t bother to respond)?
Setting the abortion topic aside, since you apparently don't want to have a reasonable/logical discussion on that, let's dive deeper into your follow-on thought: When it comes to activities that tend to harm people, such as gambling, “recreational drugs,” and so forth, life has become looser and looser.
"...life has become looser and looser." Some people might describe that as the freedom and lack of regulation you're longing for.
Your hypocritical position regarding the balance between freedom and regulation is all too common and can be summarized as: I want the freedom to do what I want to do, and I want the government to take away others' freedom to do things I don't want them to do. This view is all too common and I encourage you to think a bit deeper about the balance between freedom and regulation.
Your examples of gambling and recreational drugs are a perfect illustration of my point. The vast majority of people in our country, where several forms of gambling and recreational drugs are legal, are perfectly able to exercise moderation in these areas and experience no harmful effects by living in a society where people have the freedom to gamble or use "recreational" drugs. Alcohol is a drug. It just happens to be the most socially acceptable drug and its pervasiveness leads most of us to not think of it as such, even though our abuse of it causes plenty of problems. So are you advocating for government prohibition of all 'drugs', including alcohol (back to prohibition!)? Or, because you personally might have a drink once in a while but you'd never touch that reefer, are you saying the carve out for alcohol is just fine but we need to keep everything else illegal (even though the medical implications of regular alcohol use are worse than that of marijuana use)?
Gambling - yes just like an alcoholic who can't control their urge to drink, there's also folks who can't control their urge to gamble. So we should call in the government to shut down casinos but its just fine when grandma goes to church bingo and blows her money there? Both are forms of gambling. Where do you draw the line? My guess is you'll draw it right at the point where you personally feel "Well these types of gambling that I partake in are ok, but other kinds, which I don't personally care to do, they should be illegal!"
You can look at several other contentious topics in today's society and often find the same "I want the FREEDOM to do what I want to do but I want it to be illegal for other people to do things I don't want to do."
Finally, your notion of taking great grandma's advice on things... while I certainly respect the wisdom that comes with age, I also recognize that times do indeed change. As the saying goes - "It was a different time." Some changes we personally consider better, and some worse. Should we go back to "the good old days" and shun changes in society because they're new and sometimes uncomfortable for us? I hope not, because the notion of "Things were better way back when..." needs to be tempered with the realization that "back then" was indeed a much different time. Depending on how far back we're going, it was illegal for women and non-white races to vote, segregation and/or slavery were perfectly legal, liquor was illegal, it was perfectly legal for a man to rape his wife, or his slaves, etc etc.
Addiction
Most of the issues I described can (not must) lead to addiction. Alcohol, while addictive, does not submit to easily to prohibition. That’s been proven. Abortion has nothing to do with freedom, it is simply murder.
Addiction and murder—take your choice of behaviors degrading to individuals and society as a whole.
Oops—failed to mention who I think should be allowed to vote.
Sorry for the oversight. I covered that in another column in the last month. You might want to look that up, Mr. Bill.
Tuesday night
All things being equal, I'm a Gen X moderate news junkie. I have periods of time when I find other activities during my spare time. But every even year in the fall, I take election day off from work and get glued to the news.
I'll wager Trump/Vance will be declared the winners before midnight on election day. In 2016, I woke up mid-morning to catch Trump in the middle of his acceptance speech. Hillary postponed her conceding speech until the next day, to wipe away the tears, sober up, and clean up the glass from the broken lamps, not from the broken "glass ceiling."
I hope the first woman President will be a conservative and a Christain (or at least a woman that is compassionate and respectful towards people of Faith), with solid fiscal policies and a reverence for the Constitution and for our Country.
I have an urge to put money on Trump/Vance winning Virginia or New Hampshire.