We are now well into the third decade of the third millennium. Events in just this decade have demonstrated that many of the assumptions that have been commonplace for the past century no longer apply.
Three factors have changed everything. General education standards have improved to the point where voters today are as competent as many of the candidates in elections. Demographics have made it necessary for voters to take responsibility for themselves. Technology has evolved and continues to advance at an accelerated pace making policies obsolete almost as soon as they are formulated.
Voters make decisions that affect their lives much longer than just between elections. The consequences of their votes affect them, and future generations, over lifetimes.
Voters have to consider matters of intellect, appealing to logic and reason. Empathy plays its part in the choices made by voters, contributing elements of morality and conscience.
The thirty two poems in this guide, each of thirty two lines, attempts to compact the social, political and economic issues that are relevant in most elections. It is my hope that these poems appeal to both critical minds and emotional hearts.