So far we have described the expected future and alternative futures. Now it’s time for the third type of future – the preferable future. We are not purely victims of what will happen in the world. We have some discretion in influencing the future ourselves. In fact, this election is our one chance to select people who will have enormous influence over the future of this country and the world as a whole—the President, Vice-President, and the members of Congress. In order to make that decision, however, we must first decide what kind of country we want and who is best equipped to bring that about. That, of course, is an individual decision, but a class discussion of the values involved in this election would be entirely appropriate without anyone having to make the final decision in public.

We let the candidates speak to the students directly through their speeches and written comments. There is a lot out there. Some candidates have been talking many times a day, every day, for two years! So what we present here is only the tip of the iceberg.

Class discussions on the candidates’ position about the future would be entirely appropriate. Questions to address might include some of the following:

• Does the candidate explain the issue the same way we do?
• Is the solution they promise concrete enough to make a decision?
• Will that solution bring about the desired result?
• Is the solution feasible given the difficulties and the resistance to change that every person faces when they want to do something different?
• What else might happen, some good and some not so good, if that candidate gets elected and implements that solution?

Even a “Presidential” debate about the issue might be fun and instructive. We’ll leave the rest to you.

And for more information on the Candidates’ positions, go to

• On the Issue at http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm, a comprehensive compilation of candidate statements on many issues
• Google Audio Indexing (video) http://labs.google.com/gaudi. amulti-media collection of candidate statements