So, I don’t usually talk a lot about politics on my FB page or my blog, but for today I’m going to make an exception (or two). I was reading a nice little smear ad by a local young man in Henry County; this young man is running for school board in our community. As I read it I noticed a couple of things that were interesting, mainly, this young man said that he is going to, as a member of the school board, personally end furlough days for teachers. Now this is an issue that’s quite near and dear to my heart and I realize that all of our state employees have been affected by budget cuts. However, as I read this ad in an attempt to smear the other candidate, I realized, there are two issues here:

Either this young man is being dishonest or is trying to trick people (specifically teachers who I believe are much smarter than this) into voting for him on an emotional financial promise that he could not possibly come through on.

Or, he is extremely naive about what his responsibility on said school board really are. Not to split hairs here, but I’ve also read that this young man said he is going to treat this as his “full-time job” as well. At any rate, all I am saying is this, before you make a decision to vote for anyone consider these criteria:

1- Don’t give someone a pass simply because you recognize their name for some reason. Lots of names are recognizable, and that’s good for remembering things, but a name does not a great public servant make.

2- Ask yourself, do I believe this person really has the best interest of my community at heart. Sorry folks, but running a smear ad for a school board seat alone raises HUGE red flags for me. (Running a smear ad in any case raises a red flag for me, but I digress…)

3- Do your homework. Don’t believe the hype, don’t believe the lies, & don’t believe the propaganda. Find out, what does this person really believe?

4- Finally, ask yourself, how has this person proven their desire to fill the role? Are they already attempting to help with the “job?” How are they already participating in the system for which they’re running? Honestly, if you’re not already involved in some way trying to create a better system, I’m not interested.

It’s like my mom always said, “The proof is in the pudding.”

So, before you go vote, the moral to the story is, don’t just vote for an arbitrary reason, or a party line or anything like that. Make an honest, informed decision.