Look Closer — Dear Candidate
“Figure out what you want, and learn how to ask for it.” Psychiatrist, How Do You Know. Screenplay by James Brooks
Looking closer at America as I see it, and thinking about America as I wish us to be, I encourage you to take the following, adapt it however you feel is best, and send our wishes to all of the state and national candidates on our ballots this year. And then go vote, every single chance you get.
Dear [Candidate Name],
I believe my vote is more important than ever this year, and further that voting is my obligation as a citizen of [County], [State], and the United States. I am writing to ask — why should I vote for you?
First and foremost, I want to vote for someone I can trust. When the local media or PolitiFact run through your campaign speeches or your campaign promises, I want the findings to be that while you may misspeak from time to time, or you may get your facts mixed up, you do not outright lie to your constituents. And in earning my trust, I will further be counting on you to not be an enabler of those in government who do lie with impunity, who the local and national media, PolitiFact , and my own eyes and ears as a rational human being have all clearly proven lie all the time about everything to serve their own selfish goals at the expense of truth and the good of the nation as a whole.
I want to vote for a candidate who embraces reason and the scientific method. I want data and vigorous scientific review to guide decisions about climate change, environmental policy, the root causes of gun violence, the best solutions for poverty — the list could be long. The science and scholarly study should drive the policy deliberations in these and many other areas in an evolving society, not the other way around.
I want to vote for a candidate who recognizes that access to healthcare is a right, not a privilege of those who can afford it. Further, such access should not come with a potential financial burden that could meaningfully change a person’s net worth. I do not know if the best answer is Medicare for all, a broader safety net, or simply the Affordable Care Act re-empowered and given the chance to work as intended. I do believe the citizens of our prosperous, developed society deserve access to healthcare without risking their entire financial well-being. Healthcare is one part of our society where the solutions should be a combination of capitalism and government involvement; capitalism alone cannot solve our nation’s healthcare challenges.
I want to vote for a candidate who supports immigration policy that starts with the fact that every single person seeking a new start in [State] or our nation is a human being, with inherent worth and dignity, who is not automatically a criminal, and who should be treated as an equal human being at all times. This foundation does not mean we open our borders to all, or even most, of the people who seek to relocate here. But it does mean we should continue to aspire to the ideals set out on the Statue of Liberty, and offer hope for the refugee, the oppressed, the abused, those who are seeking freedom and opportunity.
I want to vote for a candidate who respects my right to own a gun, but also supports my right to send my kid to school, to eat in a restaurant, to drive on a crowded highway, without the bona fide fear of being shot by a person in a moment of anger or recklessness. I want to vote for a candidate that supports the Second Amendment but also supports hurdles to gun ownership that are no greater than the hurdles to driving a car: demonstration of a base level of knowledge and competence; absence of a felony record; insurance to protect against misuse; meaningful penalties for negligence and misuse. And finally, we should support extensive research into the causes and possible solutions to our epidemic of gun violence in this nation and legislatively follow up on what we learn.
I want to vote for a candidate who appreciates that when it comes to legislation about a women’s right to make choices about her own body, if you never had a uterus then you really have no basis for a voice in that legislation. It’s really that simple. Only women should be able to vote on legislation about women’s’ bodies.
I want to vote for a candidate who understands that we are but one nation in a global community, full of consumers who all part of an integrated global economy. With this guiding reality in mind, we must think of the global ripple effect of our policy choices, and search for solutions of mutual benefit for ourselves, our allies, and the rest of the global economy, rather than have the scope of our benefit analysis stop at our nation’s borders.
I want to vote for a candidate who balances the hard choices of fiscal responsibility with an idealistic view of the collective good citizens can enact with the aggregate voice of their tax dollars. We must own up to the hard challenges, such as our growing national debt, while embracing the welcome challenges, such as investing in our nation’s infrastructure in the form of highways, bridges, public transportation, modern railways, and modern ports, all while acknowledging that while no one like to pay taxes, taxes do put a lot of good into our local, state, and national communities. How we spend our collective tax investments presents truly innumerable challenges, but could be innumerable opportunities for an administration with a willingness to fully reassess how we are spending our tax dollars now and develop a bold vision for how we could be spending our tax dollars for the greater good of our [State or nation].
I want to vote for a candidate who wants everyone to vote. Again, it really is that simple. We must make the barriers to the voting booth as low as possible and take every step we can to facilitate broader participation in choosing our government. Too many of our current leaders at the state and national level are adding barriers to voting; I want to vote for a candidate who supports early voting periods, automatic registration at the DMV, restoring voting rights to felons who have served their time, and even programs to broaden awareness of how and where to vote on a local level.
Overall, I want to vote for a candidate who looks at the challenges of our communities, of our states, and of our nation, and seeks win-win solutions. Right now our nation and too many of our states are led by those who are acting in a “I want to keep winning, therefore someone else has to start losing” manner, with the chosen losers being immigrants, the working class, racial minorities, and women.
Summing up, I want to vote for a candidate who I can hold up as an example for my children: a person of honorable character; honesty; one who treats others as he or she wishes to be treated; one capable of deep empathy for the varied needs of our [state] and nation; one who seeks to represent all of their constituents, rather than only those who voted for them.
Thank you for your service to our [state or nation]. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
“When we vote, we win.” Slogan, Postcards4VA.com
