The Wilhelmsen Botanical Blog

So, it needs to be said.  I do not like politics.  Not one iota.  Everyone has an opinion and seemingly anyone who views things differently is wrong.  It gets worse as presidential elections draw near.

I am to the point (and have been for quite awhile) where I don’t talk with pretty much anyone because it turns into a heated debate wherein I end up tongue tied and unable to express my opinions.  I generally walk away feeling frustrated, even when listening to others “discussing” politics when I am around.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints they do not tell us who to vote for.  Instead they encourage us to vote for the person who we feel will be the best leader for our country.  I think that they are wise to take this stance.  However, I feel this is partly why I am hesitant to vote for either candidate in the upcoming election, as well as the last 2-3 elections.  I simply have not felt that either candidate would be best for the job.  Not once in the last 12 years have I felt that there was an obvious right choice that would help get our country back to what our fore-fathers and Heavenly Father has intended for it.  It has always been “Which candidate is the lesser of two evils?”  And the last two elections especially the President elect only won by a small amount.  This meant that nearly 50% of the voters were going to be unhappy with the winner.  So what do I do? Well at the last election I wrote in Gladys Knight as my vote for president.  This year, I plan to vote for Kenobi, as he is our only hope…  I suppose this appears that I am making a mockery of the electoral process.  I am not.  I suppose in some small way I am taking a stand against a system that is no longer working to the benefit of the American people. I have always said that if you don’t vote, you can’t complain.  So I do my civic duty and get out on election day to vote.

What this country truly needs and what I feel would be the qualities that our president should have are that he be a man of integrity, a God fearing man (meaning that he has a belief in a God), a righteous man, a man who sticks to and holds his morals in high priority, a man with amazing leadership skills and training, a man who has excellent rapport and good morale with people, a man for whom the power of being president won’t go to his head, and last and probably one of the more important qualities is that he has learned and knows from experience and learning the things that can be realistically accomplished in office so that he isn’t making promises that can not be kept.  Is there such a man as this?  I have my doubts.  My brother-in-law wants to run for office in 2026, so maybe he will be the man that I so desire to have lead our country.  Until then, I will just keep doing what I have been and write in people for office that I feel would better serve my country then the candidates that I have to choose from.  Good luck America and happy voting!

I just have to say that on this day in 2001 I turned on the t.v. in time to watch the 2nd tower collapse.  I sat frozen in front of the television as I watched that same footage over and over and over.  Every day and year since then I just can’t watch or listen to footage from the day.  It is even hard for me to see pictures of the burning towers.  I have wondered why I have dealt with the event of that day in this way and occasionally wonder if it is disrespectful to not want to see or hear the footage from it.  I have come to believe that it is not disrespectful.  We all grieve, cope, and re-build in our own ways.  I have wondered why did it shake me to the core so much that I have to go into media silence every year on 9/11?  It is because for me that day was a loss of innocence, for me, for our country, for it’s citizens.  Being attacked on American soil is rare and had not happened in decades.  As far as my husband and I can recollect from history and etc.  The most recent prior to that was Pearl Harbor.  When the bad guys come into your “home” as it were and bring forth such destruction and devastation it can take away all sense of security and safety and leave you feeling raw and vulnerable.  Perhaps this is why I avoid the media on 9/11.  I don’t want to be reminded of how raw and vulnerable I felt on that day.  How for several years afterwards I would attend 4th of July, New Year’s Eve, and other big events afraid of another attack.  Perhaps one that would take place on my city and my state.  How when I went to Disneyland a short time later it was eerily quite and empty.  The hours had been changed so that they closed earlier in the evening and how even then at my beloved home of youthfulness and gaiety I wondered if someone would attempt an attack on this place of laughter and magic.  It seemed, in my mind that the most logical place to strike next would be anywhere popular and with a large crowd.  I would to end by saying thank you to everyone who helped to rescue people on 9/11, thank you to the many soldiers who have gone to fight for our freedom.  Thank you to Heavenly Father for protecting this country to the best of your abilities as you promised at the founding of this country.  To everyone else, take some time today to reflect on your lives, are they what you want them to be?  What can you do to achieve your goals and also make this world a little bit better of a place?  Happy Patriot Day everyone.