POST 149 ADJUTANT | BILL STINTSMAN
We, as citizens of this great land, are held to a duty and responsibility of electing leaders and deciding which laws, bond measures, and other initiatives should be approved at the local, state, and federal level in order to keep our government functioning. To do this, we should research the people and items on the ballot to decide how to mark it. Throwing darts at a wall to decide our country’s fate is foolish at best, and deciding not to vote is even more foolish, but at least in darts, you did something other than sitting idly by and watching the government fail before your very eyes. The inaction of voters across the nation has resulted in more problems than we can count, and the resulting repercussions of the bad policies and lack of common-sense actions that were voted into law take countless years to reverse and correct, yet it seems to happen every election cycle. And when all is said and done, everyone sits around complaining about the results and our country’s lack of forward progress.
What does this have to do with the Post? Well, we are also in an election cycle, and we do this each and every year. There are seven leadership positions at the Post that need to be filled annually and they can’t be filled by members sitting on the sidelines and watching others do what you might be capable of doing yourself, but your inaction in the election system at the Post means the same thing that it does with the federal government. While your general election ballot will be mailed to your home, allowing you to vote in the comfort of your pajamas, the Post elections are held at the May General Membership meeting that requires you to get out of your house every once in a while. Show up at the Post meetings at 6:00 PM on the 3rd Tuesday of each month and see the process, meet the people, and get involved. You might find that you have something to offer “The American Legion” and our Post, you might make a positive difference in our Post’s future, and you might just like it. And by the way, you can even throw darts at the wall*.
*Disclaimer: There is a specific spot at the Post for you to throw darts. Please don’t just start chucking darts at any wall in the Post. That might be a crime, and I’m sure there is a specific California Civil Code that says so, but I’ll let you research that to protect your rights. (I had to include this because of the possible lack of common-sense that may be applied.)
