This is my first diarie. I guess I should follow the advice or protocol and get a mentor. Right now I don't know much about the tech side of all of this. All in all I'm a life long dem. I joined kos about a week ago. And since then I have read diaries and comments until my eyes have bled. I have core beliefs that I suspect I share with a lot of you. I have never written a blog or even a long comment before this. A lot of you people have been doing this for along time. You have more education and probably stronger or more aggressive opinion's than I do. But I'm trying to figure out are my beliefs as valid as yours. I truly believe in good discourse . But I have seen some true vitriol on this site. Some have such a strong opinion about guns they have just shut down when talking about sniper. I believe that until you walk in that mans shoes you have no right to judge at least not about him. But I know I'm Going to take some criticism for that statement. I truly believe in that something has to be done to control the purchase of guns in the USA. But I digress. We can talk about keystone or about suppression of voter rights or a lot of democratic issues. I can not but feel that my opinion matters not. This is my dilemma its not just about above issues. I'm just a average joe. A voter that believes in his right to vote. How do you get the average person to actually care.I personally grab 9 people by the ear and make them cast a ballot. A pain in the ass I am. That's my point how do you know if your right or you are just a pain in the ass