I posted a question on Facebook the other day that read:
I'm feeling political today (can you tell?) Please POST HERE: Why you are FOR your candidate? With so much bashing of the "other guy," I'm interested in what Romney and/or Obama has done or will do that makes you want them to take on the role as the leader of our country. Thanks! Opening up dialogue (from California to Alabama and in between). I think there are some folks on the fence that need to hear your voice.
To commemorate the 2012 election tomorrow, I'm going to post a response.
The following is from my mother, who has voted Republican her whole life. Just so you know, we do not talk politics much in my family. Some, but not much. But here she is, showing up as one of the few responders to this question. In fact, approximately 1% of my Facebook friends said something on the topic. I suppose that is better than none, but it is surprising that people do not want to engage in dialogue, but they are perfectly fine sitting in front of the TV for hour upon hour watching the stuff.
Anyway, here's her piece:
First, thank you, daughter, for asking for thought-provoking
and thought-providing dialogue. It’s time; time to cast our votes!
When formulating in my mind a response to your request to
give reasons I will vote for either President Obama or Governor Romney, I am
reminded again that all of our views are skewed and biased by who shared information (i.e. friend or
foe, media, parents, etc.), what was
shared (what information is revealed and
what information is concealed), where
(our community, state, political rally, school, church), when
(timing matters), which (which media,
for example), and how (how information is presented is as important [or more so] than
what is presented). With that being said
and with risk of being targeted from the left and the right, I am on the
fence! I will mention several issues to
explain why I am unsure which candidate will take us down the “right”; health care, jobs, education, energy, and defense. Realizing that each of us
presents our own biased (yes, biased) opinions and that we never really know
the results of either path our country will take, I would like your feedback to
help me and others make a somewhat informed decision. Does writing about and
comparing our views help us not only to clarify our own but to understand
others’ views if we are willing to try?
Healthcare: Do I
want health care available for all Americans whether poor or rich? Yes! But how
all Americans can receive excellent health care feasibly has not been explained. Obama seems to want it to happen, but
it seems to me that quality of and
access to good medical care will be
decreased though a seemingly socialist system that we simply can not afford. Will our freedom to choose which doctors we
see and under what circumstances be limited by government mandates? How will Medicaid and Medicare be
affected? How will we pay for Obamacare?
(I hate the fact that this important issue is about money again!). How can a
government-run medical system be successful?
On the other hand, Romney has not convinced me that he wants to help all Americans receive health care. I don’t understand his voucher system
proposal at all. It seems private
insurance companies will benefit rather than patients. I think private insurance companies already
have too much power to (1) regulate
fees that benefit them to the detriment of providers and clients and (2) to brainwash
their clients into thinking providers are over charging when insurance companies
are making the largest profit. In
summary, Obama’s plan seems to grant power to the federal government to make
choices that I think should be made by individuals while Romney’s plan seems to
give private insurance companies the power to benefit more than individuals in
need.
Jobs We are aware that jobs are not available
to many people in this country who want to work. Romney says he will help businesses supply
jobs by not raising taxes so more people can be paid. Therefore, he predicts
that his plan will supply jobs to Americans.
How does Obama plan to generate jobs?
Education: Should the federal government (Obama) or state
government (Romney) oversee our school system(s)? It seems in K-12 education, true learning has
taken a back seat to standardized testing. For example, I helped a third grader to
appreciate reading and learning by talking with her and listening to her read.
When we met, she asked when she would be tested (she was already nervous about
the test that would come). She found it difficult to understand that she would
not be tested and that I knew nothing about nor cared about her level
of reading. I cared about her learning to
like to read and about her well-being. Which candidate will more likely actually
try to see what is needed for individuals
to learn rather than focusing on numbers?
Post Secondary education is another story. I like Obama’s idea to support community
colleges so that more people can be educated for technical jobs. What are some other ideas of candidates to
improve post-secondary education, to lower tuition, and to create jobs for students
when they graduate?
Energy: Based on
what I have heard, I believe Obama is going in the right direction with
creating alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, etc. However, has federal funding been spent
efficiently in order to make the gradual change to alternative energy use? I think Obama is considering future needs by
making available technology accessible while I feel Romney is too focused on
gas and coal. Romney is proposing the use of more coal. Why Coal? I do not understand why he implies coal is
better than other alternatives or is there another reason for his support. If you have some ideas about the coal/gas
issue, will you share? By the way, speaking of energy conservation and
alternatives, I hope as Katie and others have suggested that we make a
conscious individual effort to save
energy by using bikes, our legs, energy-efficient cars, and public
transportation.
Defense I believe
we all want to feel safe and protected when threatened. Romney proposes more defense spending; Obama
proposes cutting defense spending. As
far as I know, neither has been explicit about why. The defense topic involves many more issues
than spending including safety, jobs lost and gained, provisions of veterans,
efficient spending, political gain, proper training, support (financial, jobs,
respect, medical) for veterans and many others.
Why does Romney think we need to increase spending? Does cutting
spending as Obama proposes put us at risk by jeopardizing our safety? If so, how does Obama plan to protect our
country if defense spending is cut? I
was leaning toward Romney on this one until I heard a seemingly credible source
discuss defense spending among other topics.
Last Tuesday night, October 30, 2012 on NPR (National Public
Radio), I heard Thomas Ricks, a military expert who is a
senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security
who covered the military for The
Washington Post and The
Wall Street Journal for many
years, and was part of two teams that won Pulitzer Prizes for military coverage.
Ricks is author of a book about U.S. generals called
Firing” the General” to Fight Better Wars. To
access Ricks’ discussion go to
www.npr.org/2012/11/01/164096479/ricks-firing-generals-to-fight-better-wars
You can hear Ricks’s opinions about defense spending starting at 24:50 – 31:40 of the 39:15 minute
segment. Ricks says the US military has more money than needed but the money is
not spent effectively and he says when wars end (such as in Iraq), the need for
spending goes down. Therefore, Ricks does not know why Ryan and Romney want to
spend more on defense. Ricks thinks we need to question
military leadership in tactics and spending. I would like
to know more about why Romney thinks we as Americans will benefit from more
defense spending and why Obama thinks we can be protected and safe with
less.
In summary, (yay!), remember syllogisms? According to an
online dictionary a syllogism is a logical argument involving three propositions: a formal deductive argument made up of a major premise, a
minor premise, and a conclusion. An example is, "All birds have feathers,
penguins are birds, therefore penguins have feathers." As you know, politicians
present syllogisms hoping we will support them while avoiding explaining
details.. For example, Romney implies, “Americans need energy sources, coal is
an energy source, therefore Americans need coal”. Question the syllogisms. We
need more information. What are some
syllogisms that come to your mind that the Romney campaign and the Obama
campaign have used? The writing process
has provoked thinking and helped organize my thoughts. Nobody which way we vote
in choosing which path our country will travel, it is impossible for anyone to
know what will actually happen on either path. Thank you, Katie, for inspiring
me to write. Voting is Tuesday!
Laura Jane Rogers
Nov. 3, 2012
 |
| Me, Mama, Maryanna, and Beth circa 1980 |
THANK YOU, Mama, for writing!
And here's my mom's bio:
Laura Jane Poole
Rogers
Doctoral Degree
Ph.D, Speech Communication, The University of Southern
Mississippi
Master’s Degree
M.A. Communication, University of South Alabama
Bachelor’s Degree
B.A., Psychology, University of South Alabama
Personal History
Grew up in Eutaw, Alabama in 1950s and 60s. Attended the U of Alabama starting in 1970.
Married David A. Rogers, DMD in 1972.
Four children; Katherine,
Elizabeth, Maryanna, and David; 1 granddaughter and two step
granddaughters. Lives in Mobile, AL where
she teaches part time at the University of South Alabama.
