MICKI BARE Advertisement

By now, each candidate's stand on major issues is common knowledge. We know what they think about immigration, the war in Iraq and education. We have seen the campaign ads, read the opinions and scanned the propaganda. We have discussed political planks and platforms around the watercooler and dinner table.

I don't know about you, but I still need a few answers before I head to the polls. I need to know where candidates stand on those small, less controversial concerns of the little people.

Which candidate, for example, is willing to do something about the inner packaging of cereals? The pouches are commonly sealed with glue to keep cereal fresh; however, they cannot be easily opened by the common man.

Adults and children alike gently pull apart the packaging, only to have it pop open, spewing cereal everywhere. Even if there is no initial cereal loss, the pouch is often ripped down the side, causing pieces of cereal to escape each and every time a bowl is poured.

Cereal loss may not be of great concern as it relates to the global economy, but it certainly causes problems for parents who can't seem to buy enough cereal for their ever-hungry, growing children.

And I'd love to pull the refrigerator out from the wall during my usual cleaning routine and not have to sweep up what equates to another wasted bowl of whole-grain toasted oat rings. Therefore, I think it is important to know who is backing the development of easy-to-open inner packaging for cereals and who is going to enforce its broad use.

Another issue on my list is signage. We already have stop signs and yield signs. Our roads are decorated with exit signs and other directional signs. I can easily find my way from here to there and know exactly how fast I'm supposed to drive as well as how to follow the flow of traffic.

What we lack are signs that explain to drivers that the roadways are public, not private. We lack signs that clearly state that everyone has a right to drive on the public roadways, and that no one person actually owns them.

Signage that clearly states that everyone with a license has every right to drive along with reminders for drivers to display courteous manners just might help make the roads a safer place.

We already have pretty wildflowers lining our roadways. There are lots of trees now that we know how important it is not to cut them all down when constructing new highways. What would it hurt to put up a couple of reminders to be kind, courteous and patient to those with whom we share the road?

Another issue of great concern to the average taxpayer is toilet paper roll placement. I don't have a preference, but Hubby seems to think there is some kind of rule. And he is not the only one. Lots of people think that toilet paper is supposed to hang a certain way.

The problem lies with which way the paper is supposed to roll. Is "over the top" the correct way to dispense toilet tissue, or should it be resting behind the roll? Many words have been written regarding this issue. Many fights have been fought over this issue. But where are the studies?

Wouldn't you like to know the psychological impact of "over the top" dispensing as opposed to "from behind the roll" dispensing? Wouldn't you like to know, once and for all, which is more efficient?

Once we have research results to back up proper dispensing, instructions can be printed on the packaging and the dilemma will be solved. Think of the impact of such findings. Less fighting means stronger marriages. Less confusion means better mental health. More efficient dispensing means less product loss and consumers will save money.

You might think that there are more important issues to discuss and debate during election season. But the big issues are already on the table. Everyone is already discussing where to put the increasing population of students in the public schools.

When it comes time to tack on pork barrel expenditures, you'll thank me for bringing the ridiculous issues out in the open and getting the conversations started.

If the government is going to throw around tax dollars, by golly, the citizens should get a say-so on how the money is wasted.

Micki Bare is a columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau and the Courier-Tribune in Asheboro, N.C., and author of the book, "Relative Expressions." She lives in Asheboro with her husband and three children. Her e-mail address is mickibare@earthlink.net.