Can I make up my own mind, please?!?

I received a phone call this afternoon that just astounded me. It was a political campaign call from a real live person. Actually, the real live person was not the astounding part, though I do get tired of all the recorded phone calls from the candidates themselves asking for my vote. No, the astounding part was the person telling me how to vote.

The caller introduced himself as a volunteer from Bellevue, WA, and asked me to mark my ballot for . . . He was in the process of listing off all his party candidates for President, Governor, District Representative, and so on when I interrupted him. Fortunately, I responded more graciously than I felt at the time, but I said, “Thank you for calling to tell me how to vote, but I will prayerfully make my own choices.”

When did we lose the ability, as well as the freedom, to make up our own mind? It is one thing to have someone help us think through the issues and come to a conclusion. It’s another thing completely to skip the thinking part and have someone just tell us how to vote and whom to vote for.