journal:

Affirmation Restraint

By Jonathan Feaster

2006-11-02

When I judge a candidate or issue I like to practice what I call "Affirmation Restraint". When I use Affirmation Restraint I go by the logic that, by default, all of the candidates and issues before me are initially in negation. If I know enough about a candidate or issue and am in agreement then I affirm the subject. If I do not know enough about a candidate or issue then the subject remains in negation.

Some people, like straight ticket voters, seem to lack this sort of restraint and, in my opinion, not using restraint is careless (and can be very dangerous)...especially today when it's almost impossible to tell where a candidate stands based solely on party affiliation or without clearly defined principals.

As for the issues on the ballot or legislation a candidate supports, there is always the threat of backdoor legislation or "Christmas Tree Bills". You really have to be careful not to rush for support for legislation until you've read a proposal in its entirety. Laws are passed in their entirety and many times when you read a proposed law it may seem reasonable on the surface, but when read in its entirety, you'll find that you may not agree with it at all. Many politicians like to slip rejected legislation or portions of rejected legislation into new legislation that has the potential for strong support at the last minute so that proper review is unlikely. The best time to do the slip is when The Congress is anxious to go into recess for the winter holidays; thus the name "Christmas Tree Bills" . Often these backdoor attachments seem completely unrelated as in the case of H.R. 4954...see also the CNET article Slipping Tech Laws in Via the Back Door. Authoring Christmas Tree Bills is very dishonest and destructive to everyone and passing Christmas Tree Bills without bothering to review them is very careless and irresponsible to say the least. We should all be vigilant about this issue if we value our freedom.

These are just a few of the reasons why I use affirmation restraint and why others would do well to do the same.