With the presidential election coming up, people are excited to vote for a candidate they support, especially those who are voting for the first time. However, voting is more complex than just heading to the location and filling out the ballot. It requires real time and effort, or at least it should.
Seeing popular ad campaigns or hearing positive comments from mutual friends is not enough knowledge to base such an important decision on. Voting without having all of the correct information is irresponsible and careless. Looking at Mark Robinson as an example, one can see the danger of only doing a surface-level look into a candidate.
Robinson is the lieutenant governor of North Carolina and is running for governor in November. When looking at his campaign website, he seems like a desirable candidate for many.
One of the quotes on the website reads, “We don’t need another politician who is trying to climb the political ladder. We deserve to be represented by someone who knows us, has lived like us, and will serve the people of this state.”
Looking at this quote, who wouldn’t want a candidate who represents them and aims to serve the people of North Carolina? On his website, some of the issues he says he is passionate about are growing the economy, improving the education system, increasing public safety and expanding veterans’ care.
These are all noble issues to be passionate about, but these are only four issues out of many. There are many things that Robinson has chosen not to include on his campaign website.
On Robinson’s Facebook page, he has made multiple problematic remarks and took stances not listed on his campaign website. In 2018, he called the Holocaust a bunch of “hogwash.”
However, if you look at one of his more recent posts, he discusses Holocaust Remembrance Day as a time of reflection and commitment against antisemitism. No matter which stance Robinson believes, these two conflicting posts show immense hypocrisy on his behalf.
Additionally, Robinson continued to make discriminatory remarks during a sermon in a North Carolina church, saying, “There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth.”
These opinions Robinson holds are not easily located by skimming over his campaign site. It requires real work to learn the information about a candidate to make an informed decision. The remarks above are terrible enough, but these barely touch on some of Robinson’s goals and beliefs.
In an advance copy of his upcoming book, he states his belief that science and history do not need to be taught until sixth grade. In addition to this, he said that he would work to eliminate the North Carolina State Board of Education. Robinson is someone who has had a range of different life experiences, but a background in education is not one of them.
Someone who has not had any experience as an educator shouldn’t be the voice on what should be taught in schools. Even more importantly, this information about Robinson’s beliefs should not be hard to find.
Unfortunately, though, this is the reality of the situation today. Making informed decisions about political candidates is not easy. It takes time, effort and work. However, making responsible and intentional voting decisions is worth the effort.
Robinson serves as a great example because his campaign website barely covers all his beliefs, and the dangers of not being informed of some of his more controversial takes are clear. This concept applies to all candidates, even those with less controversial stances.
For many candidates on both sides, getting media publicity about their political platform can be difficult. The country as a whole overlooks certain candidates with brilliant ideas regularly. Simply put, it is not possible to cover every candidate and their political ideas, especially for candidates who do not have the money to spend on ad campaigns and media tours to get their platform out there.
This is why it is up to the average person to do the work. Spend the time and put in the effort. The satisfaction of voting for the right candidate will be worth it.
