Why Vote?

The cynics say, “Why vote?  The people we elect sell out to the special interests and fat cat lobbies as soon as they get to Washington, D.C. (or the state capitol) anyway.”  Conspiracy theories abound about who really runs things, and it is never the people.  The greedy say, “Who cares?  As long as I get mine, the country can rot for all I care.”  Sadly, the cynics and the self-serving have been given plenty of reasons to feel the way they do.

It seems that every election year we have to answer the same old question … often with the same old answers.  Does that, however, make the answers any less valid.  I don’t think so!

People in other countries have risked their lives to vote.  There are many people in the world who would die for the right to vote in a free and fair election.  American women fought long and hard for the right to vote.  They prevailed when the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed on August 18, 1920.  Women in some countries are still not allowed to vote.

I am a veteran.  I swore to defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  In effect, I swore to give my life to preserve the right of American citizens to vote.  Better men and women than I have given their lives for your right to vote.

Although our elected leaders sometimes lose sight of their duty, We the People must not.  All other reasons are valid and important, but if they all were to disappear, this would remain:  We vote because it is our duty.  A constitutional right not used is a right that is forfeited.

Duty

I slept and dreamed that life was beauty:

I woke and found that life was Duty:

Was then thy dream a shadowy lie?

Toil on, sad heart, courageously,

And thou shalt find thy dream to be

A noonday light and truth to thee. (1)

Ellen S. Hooper

(1812-1848)

Quaint. Old fashioned.  Perhaps, but it still rings as true today as the Liberty Bell once did before it cracked for joy.


(1)  MacKinzie, Richard, editor. The New Home Book of Best Loved Poems. Doubleday & Company, 1946.

Decision Time 2020

In a little over six months the American people will participate in a national election.  I hope the economy is well on the way to recovery by then as it was President Trump’s greatest strength prior to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) epidemic.

However, the economy is not the only thing in question, and it is time for each of us to think about where we stand.  Those who take a strong stand on one issue are often labeled “one-issue voters.”  Sometimes that is true.  Many times it is a misguided or malicious characterization by those who disagree.  However, if you are a voter who cares passionately about an issue, be careful not to “throw the baby out with the bathwater.”  Think it through.

Our beliefs about one issue tend to dovetail with how we think about the whole matrix of issues facing the country.  Taken together, a voter’s stands on various issues combine to support “conservative” or “liberal” candidates.

It is upsetting when reality conflicts with how we think things should or ought to be.  That upset is uncomfortable, and so we try to resolve it.  What do you do when a candidate you generally agree with takes a position you oppose regarding a particular issue?  Will you withdraw your support because you think an otherwise acceptable candidate is wrong about one thing?  If that is the case, you may not be able to support anyone for very long.  Write the candidate an email, or better yet send a letter.  Call their campaign on the telephone.  Ask your friends to do the same.  If that doesn’t work, you may need to reconcile yourself to support the candidate anyway … or not.  Whatever you do, be sure it is something you can live with.

Between now and the election, I intend to post about important matters that may have bearing on how we vote in November.  The candidates we vote for will determine the direction the country takes to resolve these concerns.  If a senator or a congressional representative elected from your state is a Democrat, or if they are a Republican, they will become a part of a body of elected officials, within the House or Senate, who act as a group.  We need to understand that.  Although their influence as individuals is important, the way they must get things done is in concert with others of their party.  We must be careful, therefore, to elect people from the party that most closely represents where we stand on the issues; not just the most “likable” individual candidate from our area.

As of today, it seems clear that the Republican candidate for president will be President Donald Trump.  The presumptive Democratic candidate appears to be former Vice President Joe Biden.  If elected, one will act as chief executive, rather than as a member of a deliberative body.  However, the president is not able to achieve anything permanent without the support of a majority of senators and congressional representatives.  Regardless of which one you support; he will be hamstrung unless you give him a majority in each house of congress.  When you go to the poles, please keep that in mind.

More to follow as time goes by.

It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government

except all the others that have been tried.

 Winston Churchill*

* Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results?q=Democracy