Good evening Valente Journal Readers,

      So earlier today, I went out to a retail cellular store to get my phone serviced for repair.  At some point during my visit, the owner of this establishment and I ventured off into a political discussion. The owner, a gentleman who seems to ‘know it all’, tells me President Obama is headed in the right direction. He says “Obama is headed in the right direction with regard to his recent proposal to levy more taxes upon the wealthy elite, but that he needs to go further, overall.”  I go on to state ”

…yeah, just wait until 2014 when we’ll all be charged additional taxes.” He had no idea as to what I was referring to.  Given that he is an agnostic, he may or may not be familiar with the following quote…”And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.” -1Corinthians 8:2.  In short, a more familiar version of the phrase says that one who claims to know everything, generally knows nothing at all.  Nonetheless, as readers of this publication, I’ll assume you all know I’m referring to the PPACA, recently upheld by the Supreme Court of the U.S.A., going into effect in early 2014; better known as the new health care law.

     One of the major problems plaguing society today is ignorance.  Ignorance! Ignorance is not bliss, for it is derived of the Latin word, ignorare, which means “To pay no attention to. To have no knowledge of.”  Just a wild guess here, but would you really want someone to perform open heart surgery on you if they only read the 1st 3/1500 pages on the actual procedure? Of course not.  An ignorant voter is a danger to a civil society.  How, you may ask? Well it’s simple.  An ignorant voter gets news from uncredible sources day in and day out, never once processing the information they receive.  Their intel is never analyzed for critical thought or discussion, but rather taken for gospel.  Given those facts, an ignorant voter will take, at face value, what intel is fed to him/her as a gospel of truth from the one in which they follow.  A perfect example of this is the fact that media news outlet, RT (Russia Today) has been reporting extensively on how many innocent civilians have been impacted by the President’s drone attacks.  During a virtual town hall meeting, however, President Obama appears to have brazenly fibbed about the whole thing, claiming there were no civilian casualties.  I remember watching that virtual town hall meeting earlier this year live and was in awe by how easily the President could be so disingenuous with Americans.  Isn’t the office of The President of the United States of America also supposed to exude a great level of integrity?  By todays’ standards, apparently not. 

     What’s worse is that because this was a livestream webcast, hosted by Google, many took what the President stated at face value.  Having already known of the truth of these matters through credible news sources such as RT-America and various other news agencies around the globe, I had already known the President wasn’t being forthright.  The President (as well as several before him) is playing the role of a dictator.  One of the simplest ways for politicians of this crede to gain and retain power is by way of the ignorant voter.  An ignorant voter will hear something from or about the candidate they may like, clasp on to a sound byte, and vote for the candidate.  Bear in mind the fact that their appeal or rather ‘like’ for the candidate has very little to do with that candidates’ voting record or policy stance. For an ignorant voter, it’s all about personal attachment, entertainment and a ‘feel good at the moment’ tempo.  Once election season is over, they return to other activities that keep them entertained, feeling good, and otherwise distracted from keeping their government in line. 

    This is not how it is to be done, but yet, it is so.  I refuse to accept this as our final political destination.  The best thing we all can do is educate our neighbors, relatives, co-workers, and friends as much as we possibly can.  While I’m using President Obama as an example within the context of this article, one should really conduct critical research about every candidate with whom they wish to cast a ballot for.  Every election has an impact on our lives.  Whether it’s an election to vote for an alderman of a ward, or the governor of a state, each election for public office holds political weight somewhere, therefor making it imperative that we pay close attention on all levels.  We can still enjoy our lives by tending to recreational festivities and so forth, but let us not forget to set aside time to partake in our most basic civic duties as citizens.  If the current news media is not going to report substantive news, and do so accurately, then we the people need to to take a stand and man the presses.  Ignorance isn’t bliss.  Ignorance is dangerous, for it henders one the ability to make an informed decision on various levels.  Knowledge and education is bliss, for one will become enlightened with wisdom, and on the latter, prosperity.

A Valente Journal,

-Lorenzo