IT’S THE SMALL THINGS

This is the second part of a three-part series which I started last week where I talk about what the qualities (often overlooked, sometimes shallow) I look for in candidates that could potentially sway me to vote for them, or include them in my list, as I pass time on YouTube or social media. Beyond the obvious and the typical, I realized that there are small things we may sometimes take for granted that actually appeals to me about people and leaves a lasting good impression – candidates for the May 2022 elections not spared. Here are two more (out of the six) that I somehow manage to notice.

Consistency between the public persona they are known for and convey, versus the more private life we now have the privilege of getting a glimpse of thanks to social media – that is, of course, if they are the type to share these things which most are. Although I must place a disclaimer that no matter how “raw” footage may be on social media, it is still somewhat of a curated version of our lives we like to share because we are able to decide what content we would like others to have a look at, and an opinion about. Bearing that in mind though, a lot of candidates already have somewhat of an image in our minds – a public persona rather than their personality that we know about, and are accustomed to.

Seeing a consistency rather than a discrepancy between what the public has painted of them based on their past behavior and accomplishments, and what they choose to share is always a plus in my opinion. And though, of course, there will always be a slight difference between the person that we are at home and with our closest group of friends, and who we become when thrown in a public arena, I think as adults who are eligible to vote, we also already can decipher what is organic, versus what is put on. In other words, what is staged, and what is genuine. Thanks to our constant everyday exposure to many social media accounts we follow; this is something we are now able to distinguish.

Something else I seem to steadily notice (and this applies to those with a family of their own, of course) is how their children behave. And this is a trait I am guilty of always looking out for not only in candidates, but in other people as well. I believe that how ones’ children behave is a direct reflection of the person – that children are the result of how they were nurtured, and there is no manifestation more accurate of the values one has (and is able to instill in others) than how he/she has managed to raise their offspring. Children will always (consciously or unconsciously) echo how they were nurtured and the behavior they are consciously exposed to, and the values parents have play the biggest role in this. What to them is acceptable will always be what they were reared or shown to believe is, and though children will always be their own person, they are a reflection of those who brought them up.

You may agree, or disagree with me, but these are simply traits that appeal to me, and that I tend to look out for beyond the norm. With the popularity of social media these days, these are things we now have the opportunity to see more prominently than we could have in the past, and that may (or may not) serve as deciding factors on whether or not a candidate will gain our vote. Ultimately, that is for you to decide.