By Jim Dickson
Life is full of decisions that need to be made. We make decisions every day about something, sometimes big important things and sometimes small. Even small decisions can be life changing though we may not realize it at the time.
Most of us have had that moment when we look at two or more options that seem to have equal advantages and disadvantages, and you find yourself looking at one and saying, “I don’t see any harm, and I do see some advantage, so why not go this way?” Most of the time that process is pretty effective and will turn out to be a good choice.
In making political decisions many of us tend to follow the same process, comparing good points and bad points of the candidates and coming up with a decision as to who to vote for. For some of us the decision is easy: He or she is a Democrat, and I am a Democrat, so I will vote for the Democrat; and the same holds true with Republicans.
Sometimes you might not like any of the candidates, so the decision is “to just sit this one out.” I think, or sure would like to believe, that most people do give some time, effort and thought about who to vote for, irrespective of party, even though many times they will end up pulling the lever for the candidate that is running for the party that they most closely identify with, and that’s OK. At least they gave it some serious thought and study, and hopefully their decision was based on what they thought was best for the country and them.
I, like many of my fellow Americans look at the two leading candidates for President and after weighing the advantages and disadvantages of both, can’t come up with many good reasons why either one of them would be a good choice for President again. This leads me to ask myself, what qualities am I looking for in a President? So I made a list, and came up with this: honesty, integrity, intelligence, experience, past success, leadership ability, reliability, open mindedness, firmness in purpose, good health, a solid patriot who believes in and loves America, and last but not least, the ability to attract similar people to serve with him or her.
When I looked at all the declared and some undeclared candidates I came to an obvious, for me, conclusion. Why not Tim Scott?
I first met Tim when he was running for Lt. Governor in 2010, and he spoke to a group of which I am a part. Scott was just as impressive then as he is now. I have had the pleasure to know and support Scott when the ran for Congress that same year and all of his campaigns since.
A few days ago a friend asked me about Tim Scott and what kind of a man he was. My answer was, “Do you like what your hear and what you see? Because if you do, you will like Tim Scott, because what you see is what you get.” In all the years I have known him I have never seen any sign of duplicity, deception or a hidden agenda. He is what he is.
When I thought about it, Scott had pretty much every quality that I was looking for on my list. Right now it’s a long shot, but his whole life as been a long shot, and yet here he is running for President of the United States of America. Who knows what’s possible in America?
Born, raised and educated in the Southwest, Jim Dickson served in the U.S. Navy Reserve in Vietnam before a 35-year business career. Retired to St. Helena Island, Dickson and his wife are fiscally conservative, socially moderate and active in Republican politics, though they may not always agree with Republicans. Having lived around the country and traveled around the world, Dickson believes that the United States truly is the land of opportunity.
