Learning with Leaming

Story by Adam Leaming, Ponca City Public Schools / Contributing Writer

My sister and brother-in-law live in the suburbs of Boston, MA. Each fall she sends me pictures of how the changing seasons drastically alter the landscape there. I remember visiting Boston to see her and thinking how it truly is a beautiful city full of activity. One of my fondest memories was trying to decipher their public transit system to get my family to Fenway Park for a ball game after a day of walking along the Freedom Trail.

At first glance, I was completely overwhelmed with the options of available transportation. Buses, trains, Ubers, and Lyfts were all available. We decided to be adventurous and take the subway. However, determining which subway train was going to get us as close as possible to Fenway Park proved more challenging than initially thought.

As I thought about our upcoming general election in Oklahoma, I remembered this memory. Like any public transportation system in any large city, it can be confusing for outsiders. Public transportation by its nature has predetermined destinations on each of its routes. While that destination may appeal to many it rarely gets you exactly where you would like to go. Every election is similar in this regard. Each name on that ballot is like a different subway train that will take you to various destinations. Only you know the final destination you want to go, but you know you need to ride a subway train to get you as close as possible.

Our general election ballot is going to be littered with names, questions, positions that will sound confusing. But you will know your destination you want to go when you step into your polling booth. Which subway train on the ballot is going to get you close to your visions for our state’s future? No one candidate is perfect, I’ve seen enough ads that would have me believe either person is out to get me and my family, or how each candidate is the next best thing to sliced bread. But I do know the destination I would like to see our state reach.

My challenge for you is to determine what values you think are most important to your state’s future. Then find the candidate(s) you think can get you closer to that future. Pick your subway train, knowing full well that one train may not get you exactly there, but it will get you closer to your destination.

It’s no secret that there are many possible “destinations” on this November ballot. The best thing for our state would be for the true will of Oklahoma’s future be determined by the most voters in Oklahoma history. Please get out to vote on November 8th and I hope you find yourself arriving closer to your destination.