Raymond Neuberger

A Blog about Raymond Neuberger

  • Home
  • About
  • Political History
  • Helpful Links

Archives for March 2019

The Importance Of Voting and Voting Rights

03.18.2019 by rayneuberger // Leave a Comment

Our founding fathers viewed voting as fundamental to the freedoms and democracy they hoped to create, and the right to vote has long been one of the hallmarks of American liberty.

Back in 1776, only land-owning men were allowed to vote. Over time, voting rights were slowly achieved by all Americans through the passing of various laws and constitutional amendments. Today, it’s widely assumed that all Americans have the right to vote, however, the reality is that millions of Americans are excluded from voting due to disenfranchisement laws, gerrymandering, and issues with ID requirements.

Are Voting Rights Under Threat?

That depends who you ask, and what beliefs you how around the right to vote.

During the 2016 Presidential election, millions of otherwise eligible voters were denied the right to vote simply because they didn’t have identification that matched the often-confusing state laws around voter ID. For example, in North Dakota Native Americans who live on reservations have a PO box listed on their ID, while state voting laws require a government ID with a residential address.

Residents of numerous US territories like Guam, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are not allowed to vote in federal elections despite the fact that they pay federal taxes and serve in the U.S. military in record numbers.

Where Can I Learn About The Candidates?

When it comes to choosing the candidate who you’d like to vote for, it’s important to do your own fact-checking and research. While it’s always a good idea to learn about your candidates in person by attending town hall meetings and speaking directly with the candidate, sometimes that’s not possible.

Vote Smart is a non-partisan, volunteer-run organization that is committed to collecting and publishing free, factual, and unbiased information about political candidates and elected officials. The goal is simple—to increase electoral transparency and provide voters with a trustworthy source of accurate information generated by voters, for voters. Vote Smart has no political or corporate affiliations, and every member of the board of directors must be balanced by another member who has opposing political affiliations.

How Can I Protect My Voting Rights?

The single most important thing you can do to protect your right to vote is to use it—that means taking the time to verify that you are registered as a voter, knowing the voter ID requirements in your area, and actually casting your vote.

Be sure to start the registration process early. You don’t want to wait until election day to find out if there are any issues with your identification or voter registration, otherwise, you likely will be denied your right to vote.

To find out about voter registration requirements, visit Vote.gov—a non-partisan U.S. government website where you can learn everything you need to know about registering to vote and casting your ballot.

What Else Can I Do To Improve Voting Rights in America?

You can contact your congressman or congresswoman to let them know you support the For The People Act (HR-1)—a historic piece of legislation introduced by Representative John Sarbanes designed to strengthen voting rights in America while limiting corporate lobbying and campaign finance abuses.

This proposed act includes changes that would potentially increase the size of the voter roll by both automatically enrolling eligible voters using information from the DMV or other government agencies and restore federal voting rights for ex-convicts.

If passed, the For The People Act would also bring major changes to the practice of partisan gerrymandering by engaging local communities, and in particular minority communities, in the redistricting process. Other proposed changes under the Act include declaration of a national holiday on federal Election Day; a one-week notice period for polling location changes; and a requirement that all states replace their electronic voting machines prior to the 2020 Presidential Election.

Categories // Politics, Voting Rights

Destroying Negative Thoughts With the Power of Positive Thinking

03.18.2019 by rayneuberger // 1 Comment

Negative thoughts can sabotage your personal and professional life. Dwelling too long or too deeply on negative thoughts can even impact mental health. Negative thoughts have been linked to increased stress and bouts of depression. For some people, ‘looking on the bright side’ of a situation is difficult. In fact, some people appear to be naturally cheerful and more resilient to the onslaught of negative self-talk and negative emotions. However, much of what humans do only improves with practice. Even if we believe we are naturally pessimistic, we can achieve a higher degree of positivity in our thinking with conscious effort.

Breaking the Pattern of Negative Thinking

By focusing on positive thoughts, individuals can disrupt the pattern of negative thinking—even if negative thinking is something they’ve been accustomed to doing. First, in order to break the pattern of negative thinking, you must recognize that you’re doing it. After all, our negative thoughts seem compelling; our fears seem entirely plausible. It’s easy to convince ourselves of the need to worry on the negatives. So rather than argue with yourself about whether or not your thoughts are plausible, reflect on whether or not they are negative. If you are experiencing any types of negative thoughts, there is a need to combat them with the other side of the equation, with positive thoughts. By interrupting your stream of negative thinking, you can begin to break its pattern.

Try a Positive Thinking Exercise

Many people believe in their negative thoughts, which makes it difficult to embrace the positive ones. That’s why it’s typically necessary to adopt a methodology, a type of exercise that forces you to recognize alternatives to your negative thoughts. One source uses a list type of method. In this case, list out all of your negative thoughts—your fears, losses, insecurities, and even your irritations. In a column opposite this list, write a positive response to each. For instance, discuss how a failure helped teach you a lesson. Describe a time where you bounced back from a loss. If a colleague irritates you, write down something positive about them. The exercise is in itself a disruption of your perpetually negative thoughts. In other words, it’s a positive step in the right direction.

Find Positive Friends or Mentors

When you find it difficult to think positively, try turning to a friend, family member, or mentor who excels at thinking positively. If you surround yourself with your own negative thoughts and are immersed in negative situations, it can be tough to see the light. You can learn from your positive-thinking peers by discussing how they manage to avoid the pitfalls of negative thinking and what they do to cultivate a positive mindset. They might wake up and force themselves to make a positive affirmation. They might have a knack for finding humor in all situations—even the negative ones. You can learn from your friends, but again, you have to practice their tips in order to get better at thinking positive thoughts yourself.

Feed Your Brain Positives

If you feel like there’s nothing in your mind except for your negative thoughts, you might need to feed it with positivity. What does that mean? For some, reading positive affirmations is a way to inspire themselves to focus on positives. Some people find that performing a service is a way to infuse their mind with positivity. Reading a positive novel or watching a film with a positive focus are also helpful for inspiring positive thoughts. If you find that one type of activity works, repeat it often; use it to help you practice your positive thinking. Feed your mind positive experiences like:

  • Eat a healthy meal
  • Take the dog for a walk
  • Recycle something old
  • Find a new hobby
  • Go swimming
  • De-clutter your home
  • Bring a book to the beach
  • Go sightseeing

Negative thoughts have a way of isolating us and prevent us from doing and enjoying positive experiences. When you force yourself to engage in a positive experience, you are also encouraging the generation of positive thoughts.

Stop Thinking

Thinking is almost akin to breathing…it’s just something we do without consciously trying. However, you can consciously try to stop thinking. If you’re lost in a hurricane of negative thinking, do something that normally takes up your concentration like a craft or an activity like running that can help you mentally zone out. Essentially, when you stop thinking even for thirty minutes, you’ve given your mind a rest and you’re allowing it to essentially heal from the battering its been taking from your negative thinking. After this rest, try a positive thinking exercise as your brain may be more susceptible to it at that point.

Here’s a Negative You Have to Keep in Mind

Negative thinking leads to chronic stress and as world-class health centers like Mayo Clinic have reported, chronic stress is linked to a wide array of physical and mental health conditions. In other words, thinking negatively is bad for your health. That’s not something you can ignore. If you have trouble with the activities or ideas mentioned here, you may already be suffering from a condition like anxiety or depression. While positive thinking may help you recover from these conditions, if they have reached a serious level, you may need to discuss your mindset with your healthcare provider. Ultimately, they, too, will encourage you to find new ways to promote positive thinking.

By practicing positive thoughts, you can change your thought pattern and steer your thoughts away from negative imaginings. It isn’t always easy and some people may genuinely find it more difficult than others, but through practice, improvement is entirely possible—and shedding those negative thought patterns is definitely going to benefit your physical and emotional health.

Categories // Positive Thinking

Recent Posts

  • Overcoming Obstacles in Life
  • The Importance Of Voting and Voting Rights
  • Destroying Negative Thoughts With the Power of Positive Thinking
  • 6 Tips for Grassroots Campaign

Archives

  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019

Categories

  • Politics
  • Positive Thinking
  • Voting Rights

Footer Menu

  • YouTube
  • BlogSpot
  • My Other Blog
  • Twitter
  • Crunch Base
  • Pinterest
  • About.Me
  • Behance
  • Fine Art America
  • Independent Academia
  • Facebook
  • Tumblr

Copyright © 2021 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in