Thank you for playing, would you like to try again? This is the thought screaming through my head as I try to sort through the candidate statements and websites on my ballot. Why does it always have to come down to the lesser of two evils?

Growing up I was taught that I didn’t have to vote (it is a right people fought and died for and all but you don’t HAVE to (you gotta love that Midwestern passive aggressive guilt)), but if I didn’t vote, I couldn’t complain. So now I’m wondering do I just vote so I can keep my general snarkiness?

I actually don’t – in reality I love my country and I not only want to play my part I love playing my part. Even as a kid I loved watching the debates and trying to understand and follow along. And if the debates now were anything except a reality show with less than attractive actors I still would (oops there’s the snark again)!

But this is a site looking for hope and positivity – so ok. Here is where I see the good – According to Pew Research Center and Consumer Affairs, 97% of Americans own cell phones – most of them smart phones. So pretty much everyone CAN find information on candidates and ballot measures. That is a huge difference even from 2011 where the percentage found was 35%!

It’s messy, a lot of people are just starting to pay attention and decide what they really want. It’s like potty training – there will be messes, mistakes, destroyed bed linens – but at the end of the day it will be much cleaner and smell better for all involved!

And yes we have to sift through a lot of manure (why all the potty talk? I dunno, it seems to go with politics?) to get to the facts – AND back in the day – there was no shovel to sift with. You heard from someone who heard from someone who had access to a paper that got information from somewhere else. It was a huge game of telephone. Now we all have shovels! It’s still gross but we have them!

And from there – who knows? We’re all still trying to figure out how to wield the power of constant information and misinformation. The key word though is power. We as citizens have more now than ever before, we’re just starting to learn how to use it for good.

What would happen if we all started helping each other do that? What if the goal was to help everyone get to a place where they understood what and who they were supporting and why instead of getting everyone to support what and who we want them to? We don’t have to agree on everything – but we have to think for ourselves. Maybe changing the rules is the quickest way to get better players? Or maybe it’s not the players at all, maybe we’re focusing on the wrong game?

What do you think? What are you looking for from government? What do you realistically think governments can do for their citizens? How do you want to start helping others? Let’s get this powerful community going!