Whenever I write a column, especially about politics, I always expect a response. I am usually not disappointed. But one particular response surprised me a little.

I recently received an email from a reader, Mary Amundson, with a copy of a column her mother wrote for the Blue Earth newspaper back in 1988.

The column was called “Spun Calico Ends” and was written by Sally Erickson, Amundson’s mother. Amundson says her mother wrote a column for the Faribault County Register for about three years, before her death in 1989.

While I read this particular one headlined “Elections are special times for this country,” I had one of those ‘I couldn’t have said it better myself” moments, as well as a feeling that things haven’t changed much in the last 40 years or so when it comes down to presidential elections. So I decided to take a week off from writing my column and instead share her column with you.

Here it is, I?hope you enjoy it.

Yes, this is an election year a very special time in the life of the country. This week, we will all have, not only the privilege, but the duty, to go to the polls and vote.

Aren’t you glad we are Americans and have choices to make concerning our government and its laws without fear of persecution or dictatorship as to how to vote? We have the unalienable right to listen to speeches and then make up our own mind as to which candidate to choose.

You know something though? There’s something that really bothers me the apathy of so many would-be voters. Numerous ones say they are bored with the whole campaign situation, that no candidates deal with the issues, that they care less about the little “dirty digs” the candidates make on each other.

Many voters would really like to know how the candidates intend to handle the issues and the problems that bother our country. Who cares about the skeletons in their closets. All of us have secret actions which we would rather have hidden. None of us is perfect.

I agree if there is something in their past which might frown on their capabilities of fulfilling their duties as the office requires, it should be noted, but too many small, inconsequential items have been dwelled upon to the extent of being idiotic. Are we a country of grownups who can act like grownups and have the ability to judge the important issues?

I am sure most of the leadership, as to dwelling on the little “picky” things, can be blamed on the press. There are always people who do not really like others, but why make their lives miserable because of it?

If the media has such a difficult time to find something sensational to concentrate on, why don’t they look in the opposite direction and find something that’s good and still sensational? If they say there is no such area, perhaps we need to take a new look at such a non-challenging atmosphere that we live in.

Why do the candidates continue mud-slinging and belittling each other? Why should we leave the leading of our country in the hands of men who just concentrate on tearing down the character of another? Where are the statesmen? Let’s ferret them out and elect them.

Another thing that bothers me is the way the candidates do not answer questions per se, but talk around them or even ignore them. We the voters have questions and reasonable ones, too, I may add but why can’t the candidates answer them straight forward and to see the point?

As far as I am concerned, those debates were a farce and a waste of prime time. Information gleaned was nil and none of us would really have missed the mudslinging that you can get from other TV programs. Why didn’t the questioners rephrase their questions and make them stick? I think they lacked incentive, too.

All in all, I can’t say I learned too much about the candidates and what they stand for by listening to their speeches, either. It seems most of the issues were as slippery as having been covered with oil.

Of course, we all know it takes the president plus the Congress to accomplish any change for the better and despite their drive, often plans do not materialize. But it would be nice to know some of their goals. We are all in agreement that this a great country and we can expect much more of it. We don’t need to be told that over and over. But how?

Nevertheless, this is an election year and it is our duty to vote. Don’t be guilty of giving some flimsy excuse for not voting. Study the issues and where the candidates stand on them. Another important criteria for good voting sense is to pray about it. If we appeal to God for guidance, and then listen, God will guide us.