Letter to the Editor: Political garbage

Whatever political garbage piles up at the state and national levels begins at the local level. Disinterested citizens who do not vote or who endorse bad decisions by office holders contribute to the garbage. Voting for people who denigrate another’s religion or ethnicity, ones who don’t do their jobs vetting bad advice from attorneys and voting for people who spend time plotting against a competent employee in order to advance a “son of old Ocala” to the position puts us on the fast track to the land fill.

We argue and agonize about what goes on in state and national government, but truthfully there is very little we can do once the stench reaches Tallahassee or DC. Where we do have a voice is in our local government. Your vote counts at the local level where you likely as not know the candidates, their character, and have a vested interest in the issues. 

When office holders and the professionals who serve them whine in public about “being picked on” and “getting their feelings hurt” that says the press is doing their job. If we pay attention to the investigative journalism in our local papers telling “the rest of the story,” we can make informed decisions about the kinds of people we want to represent us and the way we want to live.