Cast your vote with principle
In some places, citizens risk their lives to get to a polling place. If these manage to arrive unscathed, the selections are few or highly censored by oppressive rulers. In other nations, half of the adult population is forbidden from participating - on the basis of gender - in a process that ironically and adversely affects their lives more.
"The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men." - Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson
Voting is a fundamental right that at least half of Americans take so lightly, they refrain from exercising it. Many feel disenfranchised or think participation is pointless because nothing will really change. The ironic truth is that staying out of the process is exactly the formula which will prove them right - a self-fulfilling prophecy.
"Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote." - Andrew Lack, TV news executive (at congressional hearing on election night miscalls)
The better elected officials are often frustrated by the apathy they experience among those they represent. The good ones work earnestly over long hours and become emotionally invested in issues of law and society. Too often they hear only complaints, and too often from people who don't bother to vote.
"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." - President John Q. Adams
Even in relatively free nations like ours, the price of lives has been paid, and will continue. Thousands of local families suffer personal and financial hardships both during and after a loved one's military service. Since the birth of our nation, soldiers have said their sacrifices seem more appreciated when the rest of us exercise this privileged right - indeed, it's our duty.
"Slavery is but half abolished, emancipation is but half completed, while millions of free men with votes in their hands are left without education." - Robert Winthrop, Speaker of the House 1847-1849
Even for those lucky enough to have it, voting is admittedly a gamble. Few can know well the minds, intentions, and capabilities of candidates. Still, the odds of making a principled choice can improve with a little effort at education. Imperfect though they may be, newspapers, candidate debates and voting guides are available locally and nationally for each election, and are well worth the time.
"Anarchists know that a long period of education must precede any great fundamental change in society, hence they do not believe in vote begging, nor political campaigns, but rather in the development of self-thinking individuals." - Lucy Parsons, 19th century civil rights activist
Sholeh Patrick is a local attorney and columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Send e-mail to [email protected]