By Jason Joiner
I am writing as a result of my experience at the Island County GOP Caucus this past weekend. I am a 25-year-old, self-employed resident of Coupeville. I was raised here in Coupeville and returned here to settle down after college and a few years in Seattle.
I feel it is necessary for me to speak out against what is taking place in our country, especially with those in my generation.
At the GOP caucus there were less than a handful of participants under 30, or under 40 or 50 for that matter. On my way home I drove by the Democratic caucus and saw scores of 20 and 30 somethings. It is troubling to me that so many citizens of my generation, whose parents and grandparents have fueled this economy for years with their savings, investments, and production, would actively work to squander the efforts of their elders by giving away the reins of their financial independence to the federal government. What a travesty that so many would opt to pick up the social habit of liberalism.
It appears to me that it has become pop-culture to be liberal. Because George Clooney, Sean Penn, Oprah, and other Hollywood A-listers are carrying a torch of liberalism around the globe, our young citizens are being led astray.
What happened to good hard- working American values that our grandparents worked, fought, lived, and died for? What happened to upholding the values of our founding fathers? Where did my generation decide that the best financial planner they could choose is not Edward Jones, Charles Schwab, or Prudential, but the federal government! If you want to give to charity, give to charity! Don’t agree to give to the government charity after falling for the notion that they will do more to help social programs. The reality is that you can help social programs, and help fund your liberal causes much more effectively, with a Republican in the White House.
If we continue down this path of liberalism to the end, we’ll be taxed out of retirement, our Second Amendment rights will be compromised, our economy will be so regulated that the small business person won’t stand a chance, and government spending will vastly shrink our GDP.
The only thing that I would ask you to consider is very simple. In the quiet times of the evening, or early morning, whenever it is that you choose to fill in your ballot, use your own judgment! Think outside the pop-culture world, and do what is going to be best for you and your family in the long run. None of your liberal friends at the caucus have to know how you vote. Nobody reads your mail, nobody walks into the booth with you. Whenever or wherever you choose to vote this November, vote right.
Jason Joiner lives in Coupeville.
