Election Day

Yes, Dear Readers, today is election day here in Northern Virginia and elsewhere. It is the day on which we go to the polls to exercise one of our basic rights as citizens of the United States: the right to vote for the individuals we believe are the best qualified to manage the affairs of the nation, the state (or commonwealth), and our localities for the benefit of all.

Of course, that part about "best qualified" nowadays often translates to "least objectionable," but you've heard me fulminate about that already.

There are several schools of thought about how we should approach this election:

1. Everything is so hopelessly screwed up that there's no point in reelecting any incumbent - we need to throw them all out and start over from scratch.

2. Those godless scumsucking radical socialist liberal bastards want to tax the hell out of everything and spend money on frivolous pie-in-the-sky crap like health care, education, workers' rights, and clean air and water. Everything they do is specifically designed to kill jobs. They're driving the nation to utter ruin and need to be defeated at all costs, therefore we need to vote Republican.

3. Those beastly hyperconservative wingnuts in their silly tricorn hats are selling the country to big business and huge corporations (who are people, too, after all ... just ask the Supreme Court). Nevertheless, those corporations probably won't want it in the end because what they'll get is a country full of people who are sick (because they think health care is a wasteful luxury), uneducated (because they think schools are a waste of money), and unemployed (because their jobs have all been outsourced to cheaper places). Therefore, we need to vote Democratic.

4. We have too much hot air and not enough thoughtful discussion of issues; therefore, I'm going to look for the most reasonable and rational candidate I can find, regardless of incumbency or party affiliation, and vote for him/her.

I personally like Option 4, although my search for reasonable and rational candidates is a difficult one. As I've said before, I like using automatic voting machines because they allow you to keep one hand free to hold your nose when you cast your vote.

You all know Bilbo's endorsement ...

... but, of course, voting for nobody is really an avoidance of your civic responsibilities. If you don't vote, you are letting other people decide your future for you. And we all know Bilbo's First Law, right? ...

Don't let anyone else do your thinking for you.

Go to the polls today, hold your nose, and vote for the least-objectionable candidate. It won't be pleasant, but if you don't do it, someone else will ... and they are not likely to have your best interests at heart.

Have a good day. Vote. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo