What’s In It For Me (WIIFM)

With a major election upon us it’s time to think carefully about the candidates we choose to vote for.  

If you watch TV or listen to the radio you are bombarded with ads for local and national candidates when election season rolls around. And if you’ve been paying attention to these ads, you’ve noticed that over time they have changed from telling you why you should vote for the candidate to telling you why you shouldn’t vote for the opponent. Those ads make me wonder what the candidate running the ad is hiding by not speaking to what he/she will do once in office (the “What’s In It For Me” in the Post title).

       In this time of such severe polarization and the politicizing of even common-sense things it is important to maintain perspective and be knowledgeable about candidates and where they stand on issues. Not just the one or few that may be important to you, but the stance of the candidate on all the issues that will impact your town, state, and the country. Don’t allow yourself to be blinded to a candidate’s overall platform because he/she speaks to you on a single issue, no matter how important that issue is to you. That candidate might just be pandering to voters’ emotions on certain issues to gain favor.

      As this behavior has become the norm we’ve been dulled to it, even shrugging off many of the promises made as just words. Those words, however, have a great impact on how we vote. Even though we accept that candidates will drop their campaign promises once elected too many people still vote for them based on those hollow promises. It’s time to hold candidates to the promises they campaign on and call them out when they abandon them in favor of policies that may be the exact opposite. Is that candidate really the one you wanted in office? Did he/she deserve your vote?

      Technology and data mining have enabled candidates to run carefully crafted campaigns that play on voters’ hot buttons. By focusing voters on these issues, which normally carry emotional weight, candidates can avoid having to develop and communicate real plans on the concrete issues that drive our economy and society. Anyone paying attention on a daily basis sees this not only in election campaigns but in everyday government as elected officials pander to the issue du jour and jockey for position. Playing on voters’ psychology is the new normal and with ever-increasing fund raising, more tools are available to politicians to slice and dice us into ever-smaller demographic groups for targeted messages that strike an emotional chord but often carry little substance, and AI makes this scarily easy.

      Sifting through all of this takes time and effort, but the rewards are great. By acting and voting based on your informed mind instead of based on your emotions you will be armed to make stronger decisions. You will ask tough questions, demand straight answers, and hold politicians accountable for their words and actions. And you will likely learn a lot along the way – always a good thing. You might even find that you are able to discuss issues with others and share viewpoints in a constructive way. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do that again!

       It all comes down to being invested in the political process. Taking the time and making the effort to understand the issues and where candidates stand on them will enable you to choose the candidates that best fit your ideals for local, state & national direction.

Please vote on November 5th!

I’ll be taking next week off to celebrate my 60th birthday. Next post will be week of November 11th – Veterans Day

www.RetiredandInspiredat55.com  10-28-2024