These rural voters are frustrating
I've been talking to farmers & ranchers every day and they don't have a clue to what going on around here. One nice group of Mennites stopped to say hi to me yesterday. One of them knew me so I told them the good news about Dr. Paul who is running for office. It happened that I had two DVD's in my pocket so I tried to give them to them but there was no interest except for the one I knew finally took them. To find out after they left that Mennites do not vote! This is in northern CA in the valley and they were big wealthy farmers with all the modern stuff Americans love. It was a rude awakening to me and a reminder of how belief systems are set. I grew up around "we believe" Beliefs= don't really want to know= Closed minds.....
To make things even more frustrating the man that told me after they left is a big voter and really puts an effort out to vote. He doesn't have a computer or a DVD player and even after explaining how wonderful having unlimited freedom to information is he said he just isn't going to be one that is sitting at a computer. Let me add I work outdoors just as much and probably more then him.
And one more a M.I.T. schooled almond farmer thinks one should be "skeptical" of anything you might see on the internet. He likes his newspaper.
Heaven help us!
PS. yes I have been getting some people:-)
Rural Folks Were Early Adopters of Internet
Weather reports, feed prices, etc, etc. made rural America an early web adopter, I'm not sure how you are correlating Mennonite/Amish with rural people.
Socialists are Everywhere
Sorry you're frustrated.
As others have pointed out before, the Mennonites/Amish don't vote, and I will tell you that this allows them to have the kind of freedom that we would all like to have.
Because they say it is against their principles, they are exempt from a lot of government interference into their lives. (They don't get a lot of hassle about sending their kids to school, they opt out of insurance altogether, they may even be tax-exempt in some cases.)
On the other hand, I was handing out Ron Paul fliers at a large community auction, and some Mennonite people came up to me and said -- "Oh yeah, Ron Paul -- he's wonderful." So even though they don't vote, they do care, and they can tell other people/influence others to vote for him. They especially like Ron Paul because he wants to end the war, and because he wants the big fed gov to stop running everyone's lives -- because he understands true freedom!
These might be key issues for them, if you have a chance to talk with them again.
They READ
Print out Ron Paul's " Statement of Faith".
Statement of Faith
"We live in times of great uncertainty when men of faith must stand up for our values and our traditions lest they be washed away in a sea of fear and relativism. As you likely know, I am running for President of the United States, and I am asking for your support."
"I have never been one who is comfortable talking about my faith in the political arena. In fact, the pandering that typically occurs in the election season I find to be distasteful. But for those who have asked, I freely confess that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior, and that I seek His guidance in all that I do. I know, as you do, that our freedoms come not from man, but from God. My record of public service reflects my reverence for the Natural Rights with which we have been endowed by a loving Creator."
"I have worked tirelessly to defend and restore those rights for all Americans, born and unborn alike. The right of an innocent, unborn child to life is at the heart of the American ideal of liberty. My professional and legislative record demonstrates my strong commitment to this pro-life principle."
"In 40 years of medical practice, I never once considered performing an abortion, nor did I ever find abortion necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman. In Congress, I have authored legislation that seeks to define life as beginning at conception, H.R. 1094. I am also the prime sponsor of H.R. 300, which would negate the effect of Roe v Wade by removing the ability of federal courts to interfere with state legislation to protect life. This is a practical, direct approach to ending federal court tyranny which threatens our constitutional republic and has caused the deaths of 45 million of the unborn. I have also authored H.R. 1095, which prevents federal funds to be used for so-called "population control." Many talk about being pro-life. I have taken and will continue to advocate direct action to restore protection for the unborn."
more
http://www.christiansforronpaul.com/statement.htm
http://www.christiansforronpaul.com/update.htm
I know these folks intimately. Pennsylvania has the largest Amish/Mennonite population in the world.
They hate the IRS. They wet themselves when you say "abolish the IRS"
Good luck.
Some Mennonite Groups Do Vote!
http://www.thirdway.com/menno/glossary.asp?ID=93
Talk about finding out information highway! ;-)
Hey, I am one of those rural
Hey, I am one of those rural voters!!! I live in Wyoming---5 people per square mile and not even on the grid, too far from electricity. Have solar instead. Havn't got TV. Havn't seen tv except for a week in a motel, for 10 years. Thanks to cell phone technology, I can use my laptop (less electricity) for internet. And even before I got internet, I still didn't believe the newspapers. It is easy to go to the library to get information that isn't biased. The rural people around here are very likely to listen to Ron Paul. In fact, Wyoming has their very own freestateproject like NH.
If Mennonites don't vote,
If Mennonites don't vote, I'd suggest trying to contact people who do. Otherwise, you are banging your head against a brick wall.
..................
"The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory is that conspiracy theorists actually believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is chaotic..." —Alan Moore
I've mentioned country folk 4 times on this forum
and they only like t.v. and radio, and maybe newspapers.
They do not do internet, or cable, even.
Yes...your take on "Beliefs" = I don't care to find out anything/ closed minds.
I agree.
My mother in law... same way. When I mentioned Ron Paul met what she wanted in a candidate, she told me" I don't like to look up information on candidates, all of that information makes me "fuzzy" in the head, and I can't stand it"(she has a 2 year IT degree, btw..got it 10 years ago at age 50, and uses the internet and has satellite, but, is "Country" living all the way).PS: she has an IT degree, but has never used it to find work.
Hurts my mind.
People like to live in ignorance, in some cases, it appears.
In one psychology class I took years ago, we were told Most(not all) people tend to only Think ( do research) about 3 major things in their lives( and the rest of the time, they go on auotmatic...basically):
1) When they buy a home.
2) When they buy a car.
3) When they get married.
Only time people put(real) effort into purchases/what they are doing/using their brains.
Look it up.
Probably on the net somewhere to back this up.
People like this should not be allowed to vote.
You should be smarter than a piece of (news) paper before voting.
Should be a test at the booth!
Did you get your information on your candidate from tv shows(make it like a "survey",lol..trick them to answer truthfully) or did you do real research(youtube videos, do checks on their past votes vs what they say?)
frustrating.
If it's on' t'v" , it 's real(roll-eyes).
I'm rural
I don't watch TV and haven't in about 20 years!. Don't listen to much radio. Do read a very local paper for the local news. Do get most of my information over the internet and have used the internet for going on ten years now. Most of my rural neighbors have and use the internet.
The Mennonites and Amish have some different religious beliefs that prohibit them voting or running for political office.
Mennonites and Amish do not
Mennonites and Amish do not believe in voting. But not all RURAL people are Mennonites or Amish. I live in a farming community. In fact, I have cows, sheep, chickens, goats, dogs, and farm cats. We vote and are voting for Ron Paul. We bought some of the NAIS slim jims and plan to pass out a bunch this Saturday in our rural area. It is going to take time, though because each home is probably a quarter mile apart.
I've seen this before.
I've seen this before. People who don't use the Internet think it's all full of "untrustworthy" info. They haven't a clue that it's the MSM that is untrustworthy.
Oh the irony.
It would've occurred to me to ask the Mennonites
if they had a DVD player. The not voting stuff would've got by me, though.
Defend Liberty!