Old school and nearly everything I read cautions against sharing political views online or with clients.
Admittedly issues such as abortion are avoided as this is a personal issue but when it comes to the welfare of our country, am I remiss if I do not engage other Americans in efforts to protect the freedoms and rights of this country? For what other reason do our soldiers go to battle?
My work in foreclosures and short sales puts me face-to-face with ordinary, every day people that have
fallen victim to the financial crisis of this country
I'm talking about Lou & Mary that lost their home when Lou was forced into early retirement and his income was cut by 70%, and Jim who had to close the doors of masonry business due to lack of work and now scrambles to find any odd jobs he can, sometimes at $10 or $12 per hour, and of course there's Dennis & Kate and their 3 children - Kate lost her job in a mortgage company and Dennis was in the construction field, unemployment benefits ran out long ago....the list goes on and on. These are real people.
The citizens of this country are suffering. Your neighbor's foreclosure puts your financial security in jeopardy. Nobody seems to be listening. Government spending is at unprecedented levels with no indication of slowing down.
As a parent and a grandparent, it is frightening to think the financial mess our children and future generations will face. This country is already much different than the country we knew just a decade or two ago. The warm and fuzzy good ole' days are gone forever just like a loaf of bread for a nickel or gas at less than $1 a gallon.
We the people have only two weapons
with which to fight: our voice, our vote.
As clients explain their hardships (every loan modification, every short sale must have a hardship), their frustration and anger with the government usually surfaces. Sometimes "political" conversation cannot be avoided.
And it shouldn't be.
Political conversations can turn ‘bad' when people try to affix blame - who-did-what doesn't really matter, like spilled milk - it doesn't matter how the milk was spilled, let's just clean it up.
Let's not talk blame, let's talk clean up.
Maybe in today's climate "talking politics" should not be avoided. Maybe being quiet and ignoring the elephant in the room is no longer the ‘right thing to do'. Consider that it is time to encourage people, with whom we work, play and interact at all levels to pay attention to politics - all forms of government, not just the national level.
The point is that whether a person is democrat, republican or independent is irrelevant. It is imperative that each of us get acquainted with the principles of candidates running for office this November. Take a close look at the candidates - we already know what the incumbents are doing. Our only hope for a recovery and a future may be to clean house of the incumbents and elect candidates that are not career politicians.
Whatever your party or affiliation - get out there and vote in November and encourage your colleagues and clients to do the same.
Our future depends on it.
P.S. I'm not suggesting Realtor-client relationships all turn to political discussions but when opportunity presents itself, perhaps we should set aside, if only for a few moments, the real estate transaction and think about the larger picture, our country.
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