Choosing Sides

In our busy day-to-day lives, we miss some of the issues that are going on around us. We do, after all, have families to take care of and jobs to attend. Because of these all-important responsibilities we turn to the news media to fill in the blanks.

In case you’ve missed it, conservative news sources with a collective history of over 575 years have categorically distanced themselves from Donald J. Trump. In most cases, they have only ever endorsed a Republican candidate. These stalwart, upstanding conservative papers are not mincing words when it comes to their evaluation of the Republican candidate. I encourage you to read one or two yourself.  I will write them here for you to find:

Detroit News

Cincinnati Enquirer

The Dallas Morning News

New Hampshire Union Leader

Arizona Republic

Houston Chronicle

While most papers’ editorial boards are endorsing Hillary Clinton as the best choice in this presidential contest, others are endorsing Gary Johnson.  A few papers such as “The Tulsa World News” have endorsed no one. It is worth noting that many papers do not declare their endorsement until closer to the election date. Doing so now, much earlier, is indicative of a call to arms, per se, or at a minimum, a grave concern over potential outcomes.

I will close with two points. The first is the value of a vote. We know from our American history how our Founding Fathers felt about the power of the vote. Choosing no one or choosing irresponsibly is an abdication of that mandate from our Founding Fathers.

My second point comes from Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel. He famously said, “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” With this in mind, I am violating the LinkedIn edict of never politics or personal on this site. For many of us, this election is enormously personal. As a mother to a daughter, LGBT supporter and constituent, friend of multiple minorities, and, as an accountable citizen of our United States of America, I proudly endorse and take the side of Hillary Rodham Clinton.