Voting my conscience

Done! I dropped off my mail-in ballot at the county admin building last night, as has been my habit for the past 26 years. As always, I trust that the right protections are in place, so that my vote will be counted, and that no one will change it for me. And just because I can, I’ll be checking online, to make sure my ballot is processed. 

One particularly hilarious (for me) issue on this ballot, was yet another attempt to increase the already exorbitant taxes on marijuana sales, presumably because “all them other folks” who use pot should be the ones paying for our schools. Basically, another one of those “tax THEM not me“ approaches to public funding. 

I will continue to vote my own conscience, regardless of all the “big lies“ that are being propagated, by people who have no inclination to look behind the curtain, as long as the misinformation causes damage to their political opponents. And some go beyond not looking, to actively attacking anyone who questions the lies. Whenever another lie is disproven, they are more than willing to take aim at whomever has made the effort to do the research necessary to uncover the lie. Lately I’ve seen even more signs of a movement to discredit fact checkers, as if they are the problem. Yeah, that’s it, let’s tear down those who are helping us get to the truth. Unbelievable. 

I read another article today, about how the “Big Lie“ about voting fraud has so completely poisoned the Republican Party, even though it’s been disproven so many times. But people who watch Fox News, or pay attention to Qanon, Newsmax, OAN, Breitbart, WNG, or the myriad other conservative conspiracy sites that are more than willing to propagate similar lies, seem to be taking it all in, hook, line, and sinker. 

As if lying isn’t enough, physical attacks are also on the agenda. I was especially incensed yesterday, when yet another news article popped up, about the police officers in San Marcos, Texas, who refused to respond to 911 calls from people in a bus on its way to a political campaign rally. I guess the officers agreed with the physical harassment on the road by a caravan of trucks driven by their political opponents. How many other law-enforcement officers are harboring malicious thoughts towards anyone different than them, and are willing to act on those thoughts? 

On a slightly more positive note, apparently some Texan Republicans are so fed up with the big lie, and the damage it’s doing to their party, that they’re paying to have billboards posted around the state calling for an end to the election audits. 

The common thread that appears to keep repeating, is that attitude a lot of people have, that it’s OK to mistreat anyone who isn’t the same as them. Hey folks, we ALL have our differences! How about a little respect for our fellow humans, even if we disagree with them?