If you vote consistently for a particular political party just because you always have, you may be a goose. Such blind obedience means that you are taken for granted, so no effort is necessary to earn your vote.
If you vote for a racial minority candidate simply because you belong to a racial minority, you could be a goose. Just because a candidate is of similar ethnicity there is no guarantee that his or her policies will benefit you. Their back-channel associations could be adverse to your interests or they could unwittingly cause you economic harm.
Conversely, if you vote for a racial minority candidate in order to assuage racial guilt or because of the historical significance of it with little consideration of the candidate's philosophy, you also may be a goose.
In the upcoming election, please don't be a goose. Be aware that although most governmental social programs appear justifiable on an individual basis, collectively they are currently unsustainable. It is ironic that those who advocate unfettered expansion of governmental services appear to not realize that all those wonderful impulses threaten the very existence of a vibrant economy, without which the entire system implodes and takes with it those good intentions as we revert back to jungle law a la the Greek experience.
If you suspect anserine tendencies in yourself, please take a long reflective swim and consider your voting options in the context of your ability to exercise maximum control over your own affairs.
Dan Speas
Haiku
