I have completed my absentee ballot except for the selection for president. I want to make an informed decision based on factual information, but where would I get it? Newspapers, 24-hour news channels, zealot Republicans or Democrats who will believe/say anything as long as it is against the other party, TV analysts, syndicated/guest columnists?
The simple answer is “no.”
Voters should realize by now that the media are concerned only with the sale of their products and have no obligation to provide unbiased or factual reporting, trying to create news rather than report it. They use exaggerated headlines and alerts to garner attention and use their platforms to sway voters to support their particular ideologies.
Regardless of my disappointment with the media, I feel the nation’s two-party system has failed the public, and I am dismayed that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the “best” candidates the Republicans and Democrats can offer for this country’s highest office.
So, the voters once again are facing a distasteful decision — hold their noses and vote, or not vote at all. What a dilemma.
There are many important issues America needs to deal with and, regardless of the election results, the new president will be forced to deal with an inept/dysfunctional Congress. People should remember that, “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.”
Good luck, America.
James Thompson, Lisbon
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