The August primary has come and gone but election season — and the responsibility to be engaged citizens that we all share — is far from over.

Voters who have been feeling political fatigue in recent days may have let out a big sigh of relief earlier this week after the primary, but more vitally important decisions loom on the horizon this fall.

Citizens still need to stay engaged and work even harder to become informed. This can be difficult in today’s age of social media, rhetoric and propaganda. Blind partisanship has brought all semblance of progress to a halt in Washington, D.C.

We must not allow this to overtake decisions made here locally.

Anyone who votes a straight ticket probably isn’t really doing what it takes to examine the candidates and make decisions based on platforms instead of party affiliation. Nowadays the lines between Republicans and Democrats have blurred so much that you often cannot tell the difference, especially at a local level where most of the candidates truly try to do what they feel is best for their constituents.

Overcoming voter apathy is another significant hurdle facing our communities, our state and our nation. Anytime I get frustrated with the system, I remind myself that our rights were paid for at a great cost and with immeasurable personal sacrifices.

But conquering these challenges is easier said than done.

The key is to remember that citizen involvement is the foundation on which our principles of democracy were built. The next step for citizens is to seek as much information as possible about the candidates and the issues — from as many sources as possible.

Don’t trust the candidates. Don’t trust the Internet. Don’t trust one newspaper or another. Don’t trust TV commercials. Don’t trust other people to make decisions for you.

Use all and others to form an opinion.

Leader Publications wants to help be part of the solution by providing timely, relevant and objective information about the men and women seeking political office. We feel we made positive strides during the primary and are already hard at work for the general in November.

Elections are hard work for everyone involved — candidates, citizens, the media — but it is all worth it in the end because this system still makes America the greatest country in the world.

 

Michael Caldwell is the publisher of Leader Publications LLC. He can be reached at (269) 687-7700 or by email at mike.caldwell@leaderpub.com.