MA Firearm Safety

   To the Editor: Soon it will be time to vote again on November 7Th. America has a dismal turnout percentage at the polls, only 30-35% will bother to break away from their busy routines to be heard on election day. Only 30-35% will decide how the rest of the country will be governed, there is something fundamentally wrong with that picture. You could deduce from those dismal numbers a chronic case of national apathy. I can’t make the time in my schedule to vote, or, I have a golf engagement that day, or worse, they all cheat and lie so why should I waste my time? There are as many excuses as there are people who will not excercise their right to vote. By avoiding the voting booth you ensure that changes in the political arena will never happen.

   Low voter turnouts do not translate into a need for politicians to change their ways. Educate yourself, what a candidate is saying at the moment to be elected does not necessarily reflect what he/she has done in the past, the older I get the less I listen to what politicians say and look more at what they have done. Study the persons past voting record, (a matter of public record) to see how a politician truly feels about issues. Weigh it out against your value system, then vote accordingly. His/her real stands on the issues in the past will indicate how he/she will govern in the future, regardless of what they are saying in the present. 

   I guess the main point is to vote, make time to vote, and when you do, cast an educated vote as opposed to an emotional vote, politicians play on your emotions, they hope your not paying attention to past actions or inactions. The party that stands closest to your core beliefs should be the party to go with, regardless of family tradition. Bring someone along with you, it is a good feeling to engage in a free political process. A process that so many have given their all to preserve. Mark Shean  www.mafirearmsafety.com  written 10-7-2008