EDITOR:

Political season has begun. The first presidential debate has taken place and each parties convention will commence in the months of July (Republican) and August (Democrat). Candidates from both parties will be officially nominated and then the onslaught of political ads will make us wish November 5th cannot come fast enough.

Most people who read Letters to the Editor have lived long enough to know pain and suffering will find each of us. It’s going to happen: Death of a loved one; Divorce; When children hurt, you hurt; Physical, emotional and mental pain seem to be everywhere. Another form of pain is when we make bad decisions, especially the ones that cause us to say, “Lesson learned, I’ll never do that again.”

At times, the pain caused by a bad decision can be covered up by knowingly using deflection tactics. For example: 1) The sting of taking the life of a soon-to-be-born child is lessened by calling it Planned Parenthood. 2) Covering up an agenda that includes Socialism/Marxism, which at its very core is atheistic, doesn’t sound nearly as bad when you call it a Woke culture/agenda. Do most voting Americans want the current woke ideology to continue?

It is unfortunate, but our current political divide makes the future look uncertain. Why is it four years after COVID we still don’t know what ingredients make up the vaccine? Yet, we know how much hidden sugar is contained in a box of cereal. Have we gotten to the point where no political leadership can be trusted?

Some have claimed: 1) In 2020, many votes mailed in after the deadline were counted. 2) Votes came in not knowing for sure they were legitimate, yet counted. 3) Votes were cast by dead people. 4) Anyone who questioned the seemingly shady result was ostracized immediately. Let’s pray we have a play-by-the-rules election this time. Fortunately, we have first-hand experience from each candidate, as both have held the reins of the most powerful position in the world. Perhaps the following questions can be used to determine their effectiveness:

Under which President did your paycheck spread further; Under which were groceries more affordable; Under which was gas more affordable; Under which was it easier to heat/cool your home; Under which were interest rates more affordable; Under which was the world safer; Under which did Russia invade Ukraine and the terrorist Organization, Hamas, attack Israel; Under which was left behind 80 billion in military hardware, including hundreds of American citizens; Under which was the border left wide open allowing 10 million unvetted entries; Under which were our cities and streets safer; Can we currently trust the government to be fair and just to everyone, or as some say, do we now have a two-tier Justice Department?

The election in November is critical!

Your vote will decide which policies we will live under for the next four years. This isn’t about Democrats and Republicans, it’s about freedom. “Mr. Scratch” is knocking, may we not need Daniel Webster!

Mike Cousineau

Escanaba