On the Day Before Elections, or Of This Sport We Call Liberty
All right, guys, Election Day is tomorrow. I know a lot of you have already voted via absentee ballot, but if you haven't and you're registered, please go. (I would like to point out that I'm saying this despite the fact that I know most of you have political opinions fairly opposite of my own.)
Elections are won and lost by a margin of who was too lazy to get in their car and fight for a parking spot at the local elementary school on a Tuesday morning. Wouldn't it be nice to have a president whose election was voted on by most of the eligible population?
And, come on, this is just sad: World turnout for elections. See us? Way down there at 139th? How pathetic - how absurd - is that?
I get that going to the polling sites is a pain, and sometimes dangerous. (Did you know that election day has, on average, the highest number of traffic accidents in a single day?) But, come on, democracy is a blood sport. We've fought wars in which hundreds of thousands of people have died to protect it. The least you can do is get up early and suffer through some traffic and standing in line (bring a book! or homework! bring your iPod and rock out while you wait!).
If none of that convinces you, how about this: I voted. You may or may not think you know how I voted, but you don't know. What if I voted against your candidate (because, let's face it, this is largely an election about voting against, not for)? Better go negate my vote with one of your own!
Okay, so that's a little childish. But still a good idea because, if you're too lazy to go vote, other people will be, too, and, in this particular election, a few extra lazy folks on one side or the other could tip the balance.
So go vote. I know "patriotic duty" and "civic responsibility" are taboo phrases these days, but it's still true. Whatever you think of where our country is currently heading, you have a responsibility to tell the world and the future by punching or penciling or selecting your best guess for the next four years. Otherwise, I don't want to hear a peep of complaint out of you.
Besides, if you don't, we could end up living through [four more years of current policies/the country being converted to a socialist commune] (select the hyperbole that scares you more).
One last time: GO VOTE.
:: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote ::
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
Elections are won and lost by a margin of who was too lazy to get in their car and fight for a parking spot at the local elementary school on a Tuesday morning. Wouldn't it be nice to have a president whose election was voted on by most of the eligible population?
And, come on, this is just sad: World turnout for elections. See us? Way down there at 139th? How pathetic - how absurd - is that?
I get that going to the polling sites is a pain, and sometimes dangerous. (Did you know that election day has, on average, the highest number of traffic accidents in a single day?) But, come on, democracy is a blood sport. We've fought wars in which hundreds of thousands of people have died to protect it. The least you can do is get up early and suffer through some traffic and standing in line (bring a book! or homework! bring your iPod and rock out while you wait!).
If none of that convinces you, how about this: I voted. You may or may not think you know how I voted, but you don't know. What if I voted against your candidate (because, let's face it, this is largely an election about voting against, not for)? Better go negate my vote with one of your own!
Okay, so that's a little childish. But still a good idea because, if you're too lazy to go vote, other people will be, too, and, in this particular election, a few extra lazy folks on one side or the other could tip the balance.
So go vote. I know "patriotic duty" and "civic responsibility" are taboo phrases these days, but it's still true. Whatever you think of where our country is currently heading, you have a responsibility to tell the world and the future by punching or penciling or selecting your best guess for the next four years. Otherwise, I don't want to hear a peep of complaint out of you.
Besides, if you don't, we could end up living through [four more years of current policies/the country being converted to a socialist commune] (select the hyperbole that scares you more).
One last time: GO VOTE.
:: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote :: Vote ::
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.