Cast Your Vote

Here is a thought…
If you were actually being shot at, would you vote?

It amazes me how soft we have become as a nation. We will find any excuse to not go out and vote. Some states, not unlike Oregon, are thinking of doing away with voting at the polling centers altogether. Voting will simply be done via the US mail. It occurs to me here, that many will still not vote unless the postage is prepaid. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

The right to vote is beyond huge. It is one of the major things that should stand us apart from many nations, and yet we take it for granted. Somewhere a person put their life on the line to assure you this privilege. And yet, as a country, we don’t find the time to make this an important issue in our lives.

No vote, no right to complain. It is as simple as that.

You bet there are probably some irregularities in the voting process. Ask anyone who lives in Florida, Ohio or my home state. (We still sort of have a governor who may or may not have won by 109 votes. Well, give or take a few dead people voting.) But, regardless, no one got shot or poisoned.

In the Ukraine, they actually tried to poison the opposition leader. Here we just ran a candidate who couldn’t take a stand on an issue if his life depended on it.

In Iraq, people were getting shot at. They had suicide bombers blowing up voting sites. Citizens were not allowed to drive the day of the election. That rule here, would bring the vote count down to fewer than 5% and assuring Ralph Nader a victory.

My favorite bit on the Iraqi elections was that there were over 500 candidates, 250 parties and it should be noted, that all of them would still have beaten Al Sharpton.

So next time you see an election that remotely effects you, find a reason to get out and vote. It is a gift that should be taken lightly.