President’s Message

7/23/08

Wanted: Female Voters

Well, don’t we all know that this is an election year? We have been living it for nearly 18 months already. But never before, in an election year, has the female vote been courted so actively. A woman running for the nomination of her party for president; the addition of a woman to a ticket as a vice presidential candidate (this did happen before but that seems to be so long ago!!); women in the spotlight and asking for all of us to jump on their bandwagons.

In many ways, it is very exciting and enticing. But we must all step back and ask ourselves some questions about why we vote and how we vote. As we listened to our excellent presentation in September about women and money, Larry Eggers challenged all of us to become fluent in the language of our own financial life. His challenge made me realize that we must do that as voters as well.

Did we grow up with the views of our parents and have we stayed with those because it is comfortable to stay with what we have always done? Do we have a significant other in our lives that sometimes may influence us in a way that we are not entirely sure we agree with? Does the thought cross our minds that our vote does not really matter anyway?

My challenge to all of us is to reflect honestly on our own values and views about the leaders we are about to vote for. We must do our homework; with the negative campaigns raging, it is so easy to watch an ad and be led to believe what is there. With internet access, it is much easier to find out the truth, if we will just take a few minutes to do our research.  Here are some sites to start with, all of them are non partisan and try very hard to be truthful and up to date. They are: www.snopes.com, www.factcheck.org, and www.procon.org. Go to one of these when you get an email that bashes one candidate or another; go there when you see a campaign ad that seems questionable and accusatory; go there when you just want to see what the view on an issue may be.

Take the time to identify the issues that are important to you. I can think of a few for myself: health care crisis, education, the economy, insurance reform, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, women’s health issues, taxes, church and state, etc etc. Read, listen and discuss; listen to others and question them when you want to learn more about why they believe the way that they do.

No matter where you stand on issues or if you ascribe to one party or the other, never relinquish your right to vote. And when I say vote, I mean for all candidates running for an office that may affect you and your loved ones. The local offices can be every bit as important to us as the national ones.

Come November, I hope we will have all become fluent in the language of politics so that we will vote as educated citizens. Remember, everyone is soliciting your vote; use it carefully and for the reasons that speak to your heart and soul!!!

Mary Sheahen