VOTING: A little means a lot

For most Americans, modern culture involves endless pursuit of comfort, pleasure and entertainment. Admittedly, I relish biking, hiking and reading. However, a purposeful and enriching life includes responsibilities and duties that are often not as enjoyable yet are significant.  

We’ve all experienced frustrations at times regarding local issues, policies or elected officials. Many of us take to venting via social media about these yet change seldom results. Instead or in addition, we have the opportunity each May and November to vote to make a difference. True, we each have only one vote among thousands, but elections have been determined by a single-digit number of votes. Your vote could be what turns the outcome. In the May 2025 local election, fewer than 22% of over 110,000 Kootenai County registered voters bothered to cast ballots yet the people elected are making pivotal decisions that affect all of us. Becoming aware of election issues and then voting may not be fun or convenient but it is part of our responsibility to ourselves, our families and our community. For November’s election in my precinct, fire commissioner will be the only position on my entire ballot. The person holding that office literally affects my environs, so I’ll be investing time to learn about the candidates. Would I rather be on my bike than doing that research? You bet. But making this time investment is a responsibility and an investment in my home and potentially my life. 

Per Edmund Burke: “No man made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little.” Voting may seem insignificant but it’s a worthwhile duty.

MARIANNA COCHRAN

Rathdrum