Before you Vote Tomorrow Know What is at Stake on the National Level

Ok, so this is not a technology post, but sometimes even my life ventures from the front of a computer screen. Take a moment to watch the trailer for the movie Obsession. Before you pull the lever on Tuesday for the national candidate of your choice, please consider the direction that your individual vote could steer this country in.

Sunday night I was watching FOX News Channel’s special on radical Islam. My 3-month old son, Jacob was fussy that night, so he was still up and insisted on being held by daddy – constantly. So we watched the special together. As I watched, I found myself wondering if my son would have to deal with this terrorism mess when he grows up.

The special put a lot of things into context for me. It illustrated how all of the situations that we see as separate theaters in the war on terror are seen as a single battlefield to Islamic terrorists. It made clear the parallels between the early 1940s and today. It made clear that radical Islam is not going away on its own, and if allowed to fester it could become the greatest challenge that we, and our children, will face over the next 10-20 years.

Unlike six years ago, I will not be voting for Ben Nelsen this election. I am no huge Pete Ricketts supporter, but I know what is on the line here. There are those in the Congress and the Senate who believe (or at least say they believe) that America has no place confronting terrorism. I am afraid that if we end up with a split government we might lose two to four precious years in this war to political bickering and infighting. (And that is a big statement coming from me – Gridlock is generally good in my opinion, unless you are fighting a war of civilizations.)

While Iraq is different than Vietnam was, the lesson learned from that war was that disaster will ensue if politicians play politics with America’s sons and daughters rather than setting a clear goal and working until it is attained.

Before you vote this Tuesday, ask yourself what matters more – political garbage or dealing with this problem so my son – and your sons and daughters – won’t have to. You can get political garbage in any election. Your vote WILL matter in this election, and there are a lot of good men and women counting on solid leadership so they can finish the job they started and come home.