Vote!

"The rational and peaceable instrument of reform, the suffrage of the people. " ~Thomas Jefferson

Recently I had an interesting conversation with someone who is pretty discouraged about the ugliness of politics today. He and his friends are so discouraged that many don't see the point in even voting in the upcoming local elections. According to them their vote simply doesn't matter.

I think they're wrong about that, especially for local elections. Police, fire, roads, education, recreation, taxes...these are all local issues. These are all things that impact every single individual. These are all things that directly relate to local elections. Don't like what's happening in town? Taxes too high? Roads in bad shape? You have lots of options: volunteer to serve on a board or commission, voice your opinion at a meeting, pick up the phone and ask questions, run for office, or

Vote! It is concurrently the most passive and the most powerful way to influence government. Each vote matters. For better or worse, my position on the Town Council this term almost didn't happen; I tied for the last seat on the Council. Tied!

Each vote matters even when the choices aren't ideal. I understand the frustration of watching elected officials snipe at each other. It's discouraging and childish and unproductive. In I suggested that what the media reports is not the whole picture, it's just the “tip of the iceberg,” yet the media is how most people access information. The media does do a great job, though, about providing biographical information about candidates before the elections, and sometimes prints candidates' answers to the same questions in order to provide voters with comparisons on substantive issues.

We do have choices. Even if the choice is “choosing the lesser of two evils” we have options. We are lucky to have options. One of the most powerful images I ever saw was a 1994 photograph taken in South Africa of the lines of people waiting to exercise their newly granted privilege to vote after apartheid ended. We take that privilege for granted, but we shouldn't. It is not a coincidence that the first three words of the U.S. Constitution are “We the People.”  

A pretty interesting article published on foxnews.com last November includes these ideas consistent with “We the People”:

“Why vote? Because in America, that is the way we change things. That is the way we reform the system. That is the way we guard against the threats to our liberties and exercise our responsibilities. That is the way that we keep America free.”

and

“...it matters that you vote. It is your voice – and the only person who can silence your voice is you. So applaud, complain, march, protest, petition – these are your rights but, without your vote, they are meaningless actions, backed up by nothing.”

To those who don't want to vote this November, I hope you'll change your mind. If you're not registered, it's pretty easy. You can even access the voter registration form online and mail it to Town Hall. If you can't vote on election day you can vote via absentee ballot.

No vote, no voice, no right to complain.