We live in a complex world. This makes us vulnerable to people who lie to us. We believe those lies and repeat them to others as God's truth. This gets more confusing when there are conflicting lies and therefore conflicts about what the absolute truth is. People react to this environment in various ways that commonly express themselves at election times. Here are some of them:

1. Some people throw up their hands and just don't vote.

2. Some people are so angry that they vote for a wrecker. They want to tear down the current system and replace it with something better on the basis that anything is better than what we have now. (eg Trump supporters).

3. Some pick a version of the truth and stick with it. All political parties will change their versions of the truth to attract these voters.

4. Some people pick a particular political party and stick with it.

5. There are the true truth seekers who try to sort the truth out for themselves.

6. Some people have a person who they think highly of and take advice from them as to how to vote.

7. Some people pick a principle such as social equity or climate change and pick the the mainstream party that best supports that principle.

My advice would be for each person to decide themselves what kind of world they want to live in and to vote on that basis. They should have an opportunity to sit down in small groups to help themselves come to that determination if need be. The leaders of these groups should be non partisan.

Another piece of advice is to be a skeptic. Believe nothing you hear and nothing you read unless it is a verifiable fact. Then do your own analysis.

Don't assume that all politicians are dishonest. When they make promises realize that tells you what they would like to do but that it may turn out not to be within their power to fulfill due to any number of circumstances. Rather try to determine whether they are sincere in their beliefs.

Bill Moses
Owen Sound