To the Editor,

Well here we are on the verge of electing the President and Congress that will determine the future of our nation as well as the world we influence. Sadly, the determining factor as to whether we will overcome the current fiscal crisis, or collapse into irreversible destitution comes down to voters’ ability to discern truth in the media.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people I know who pay little attention to public or fiscal policy during the year and then try to make a decision on who to vote for based on the misinformation they absorb during the few weeks before an election.

I called a close friend a few weeks ago only to get quickly brushed off the phone because he was watching the televised Presidential debate. He wondered why I wasn’t watching it. To which I replied that I participate in debates over public policy virtually every day of the year. While he and other people are focusing their discretionary free time on sports, soaps, or sitcoms, I am reading or attending conferences about issues that would bore most everyone else I know.

So anyway, a few days later I called him again to ask what he thought of the debate. He said he had decided to vote for Obama and I just about fell over. Here’s someone who is a veteran of the Navy, an avid sportsman who collects guns and fast cars, yet plans to vote for a closet Marxist based on the misinformation that media manipulators have used to infect his American sensibilities.

He thought the current fiscal crisis was caused by Republicans’ deregulation of banks.

I spent an hour on the phone with him bringing him up to speed on the roles played by Senator Obama, his fellow Democrats, their policies and close associations with the big mortgage lenders and ACORN in this financial crisis. And when I was done he seemed to understand the situation there but then said he was also going to vote for him because he agrees with his pro-abortion stand. You see my friend thinks overpopulation is the source of most of our woes. He sees Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin as part of the problem because she has five kids and is pro-life. He actually said he hates “the bitch”.

I know better than to try to reason with someone who is emotionally committed to a decision so I gave up. Maybe he’ll come around later. Hope it’s not too late.

 DRC