Political passions seem to have intensified over the last few years across the county. Even in the sweet little towns of the Chathams, the primary election on Tuesday is reaching a crescendo in public debate.
Perhaps it is the emergence of the 3G network or the proliferation of wifi, but political pundits abound, and are profoundly entertaining. Add the element of anonymity, and there’s a great deal of dysfunction being documented on the internet. Just read some of the comment threads on Patch.
It’s great to see so many activists at the local level. I particularly find it gratifying to see elected, and hopeful officials get their start in public service at the PTO level. Vicki Fife, Laura Ali Nonnenmacher, and Sarah Palin come to mind. (Opps, forget I just wrote the name Palin, no nasty comments please.)
Find out what's happening in Chathamfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Politicking took a turn for the worst with the onset of new signage around town. Vote for Anybody But…with a candidate’s name printed boldly by the opposition, and placed in direct competition for drivers’ attention surfaced on Thursday.
Our duty as voting citizens has become easier in one regard, but more challenging in another as a result of the enormous amount of information available on the internet.
Find out what's happening in Chathamfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Whether it’s a local primary election next week, or a national general election next year, stakes are high, and it behooves us to become higher information type voters, expanding our knowledge base beyond partisan news sources, euphoric fads and strategically placed signs.
Vote for anybody but...spend some time getting to know your candidate.
Update: After reading the comments on this blog post, I would like to clear up any misunderstanding about my reference above to 'the opposition." The "Anybody but" signs were paid for by Richard E. Templin, 480 Green Village Road.
