It's about that time....

So, sadly, the Olympics are over. Did any of you watch the olympics? I don't have a TV that's connected to anything besides my husband's PS3, and when I tried watching them online I was limited to 'highlights', and couldn't root for anyone. It was still fun watching Gabby Douglas's events for her gold,

and part of the men's synchronized diving. I wish I could have cheered the athletes on with the rest of the world, but alas. At least it comes every four years!

Anyway, I'm talking about a different time of the year- a time when we all get to experience the joys of two candidates bashing each other voting for our next commander in chief. I swear, it seems like there is more contention surrounding politics than any other topic- at this point I would include religion. Because with religion, I think that in general people who have a religion have learned that although they strongly believe one way it does not mean that it's ok to tear down what someone else believes strongly. I know what I believe, and I am more than willing to share the happiness that comes from what I believe (you can find what I believe here), but I can tell when someone's heart isn't open to it, and that will not make me love you any less. You sure are missing out on something awesome, though!

Anyway, I digress. Voting, right. I find it interesting and honorable that a lot of people (especially on Facebook) share their political opinion online. There are values and principles that should be upheld if the person feels that they are important. However, I also think it important that everyone should find what their values are for a system, and support a candidate that (as closely as possible) upholds those values. One of our responsibilities as citizens of this country is to responsively vote for laws and candidates that reflect our values. If you haven't already (and in this I am a hypocrite who still needs to do this), REGISTER TO VOTE!!! It really isn't hard, and in most cases you can either do it online or print out the form online to send it in the main. Priority one.

As far as deciding who to vote for, I think I'm going to take the advice that I gave others as a missionary- if you want to know about something, go to the source. Which is what I intend to do. For your own sakes, here are the links to each candidate's own site:

http://www.barackobama.com/?source=action-bar

http://www.mittromney.com/

Am I going to tell you who I'm going to vote for? For one, I haven't decided yet, believe it or not. I don't think I know nearly enough to make a responsible decision, and I want to make sure to do due diligence before making such a decision. For another, I like what a previous church leader said about the topic once: that the voting booths are private for a reason. I'm going to let others make their own decision, and trust that they'll do their best to choose the best candidate.

As for another note, thanks for reading! I know my blog is sporadic at best, but it's a good outlet for my thoughts for me. It is a little weird just writing about myself without having any automatic feedback like a normal conversation, and I feel a little full of myself because I like to hear other's thoughts too, but maybe it will do some good. If any of you have any ideas as far as what you would like to hear from me, let me know! Material is one of the dominant things I'm missing.

Anyway, happy voting!!!

-Jackie