Sunday, October 26, 2014

Be informed...

I don't write political posts.

Well, I may have mentioned my Dad running for State Senator back in the day and my stumping for him as a kid... but, in general, I don't write about political topics.

However, on my drive home last night after class from Wilmore, I learned about an informative website that I wanted to pass along to others from the WMBW Moody Radio Station (88.9).  The show on last night that was sharing the information was "The Public Square" sponsored by the American Policy Round Table.

This website is called "iVoters".  You can access it by clicking on the name.

Once you get there, you can type in your address and zipcode to get a ballot for your specific area.  You will see links to the various issues for which you are allowed to vote.  You will also see all the candidates listed for your area.  Some will have pictures.  There are links to learn more information  on as well You can also read both sides of any issues on the ballot. The links take you to ballotpedia.org.  It calls itself an "interactive almanac of U.S. politics."

During the radio broadcast show they were discussing the Tennessee Amendment 1 issue and how the commercials weren't doing the issue any justice nor were they really much help to the voters.

I agree.  The commercials did me no good when I early voted.  I read and re-read the statement with one certain commercial in mind, attempting to figure out how that commercial related to what was being asked of us to vote.  It did not make sense to me.

What was helpful about the link from iVoters to ballotpedia was the information.  You can find the full wording of the ballot text.  You can find information on the Constitution.  You can find information on those for and against the amendment.  You can make your informed decision.

I wish I had been able to consult a non-biased informative website such as iVoters prior to my early voting, but I learned about it later.  If you haven't early-voted, it's not too late for you.

I voted based on verbage of the amendment and what I thought best for the government based on my understandings and insight and not based on commercial bias.  However, it would have been better to have been better informed of the full situation. 

We all know that to be better informed is good.  We all realize that often commercials, especially political ads, can be biased.  We must be able to filter through what is there and discern to the best of our ability, what is the best choice.

There was an issue I was expecting to be on my ballot when I early voted-- the wine in the grocery stores in Tennessee.  It was voted into legislation back in the spring of 2014 (HB 0610), but is coming before the people before it is finalized.  Just last week I started to see some commercials on television asking, "where's the wine?" for the Red, White, and Food Campaign

However, I didn't see the opportunity to vote on this issue on my ballot.  I learned that municipalities had to petition in order to get it onto the ballot. It seems that 80 municipalities in Tennessee pursued this petition to add this to the ballot.  (Check out this article on the Wine Petition Campaign for more information.) It seems therefore, that there weren't folks wanting it to go to a vote in our suburb area, because I never heard anything about nor saw any petition to sign.   I learned by watching this video below that the petitions started this summer in certain grocery stores and they had to have the required number by August 21.  Because the grocery store that I frequent most wasn't named, maybe that's why I never saw a petition to sign.  Also, I traveled a bit this summer and didn't read the newspaper as much as normal, so I missed this article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press from June 6, 2014.


I was asked about my stand on the matter.  I believe that having the wine in the grocery stores can help revenue and therefore isn't a "bad thing."  I wouldn't want the revenue of the larger grocery stores to destroy the smaller businesses, however.  It is important for smaller businesses to do well.  I would like to know how communities in other states have thrived in their businesses since bringing in wine to the grocery stores.  Has it been a win/win situation or has it hampered business and the economy?   Even with those statistics, because each state and community is a different culture, the results could be different here.  It remains to be seen how Tennessee will do in this area. 

You may still be wondering, 'why is she writing about politics and wine?'  It's about being informed.  It's about doing my best to know what is going on around me as I live out my time here, supporting my community, state, and nation.  I admit it-- I'm not always informed as I can be about the various issues and candidates.  I want to be.  I need to be. 

Wherever we live, we have a responsibility to do all the good we can in our community (state, nation, etc.).  As a follower of Christ it makes even more sense to want to be informed and to share that information with others so that we are able to make the best choices.

Check out the links I've provided in this blog post.  Share them with others.  Have fun with research and reading. 

Blessings on your journey,

Debra

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