A little Wednesday morning politics, crossposted to FB...
So my friends, in the words of Sarah Palin, "How's that hopey, changey stuff workin' out for ya?" I'd have to say, not so hot. Watching the news during supper last night, reports were that election officials expected a whopping turn out for yesterday's primary election.... 25% of eligible voters, as opposed to the 20% they would expect normally.
I've heard a lot of "well I didn't vote for Scott Walker," going around. If you live in Dane county and voted, you probably didn’t. Perhaps the better question is, "So you didn't vote for him, fine, did you vote AT ALL?" While some people were not paying attention, or too busy, or too whatever, somebody did elect him... 52% of the people who showed up and exercised their democratic rights.
I will confess that I have not voted in every election I've been eligible to vote in. But I try to make concerted effort to do so, whether it's a primary election for local concerns or a national election. The older I get, the stronger I've come to feel that voting is not just a right, but a civic duty as an American citizen. I find it disrespectful to the hard work of all the leaders of the civil rights movement who fought and sacrificed to ensure this right for all our citizens to just sit back and essentially throw away that precious gift of choice. I refuse to be disenfranchised by personal apathy.
Who do you want to choose for you? Who are those 20-25% who made it to the polls yesterday? Do their values align with yours? Maybe, maybe not. "I was busy, I didn't have time, I forgot." It’s easy to make excuses.
Unfortunately, I've never had a substantial wait at any polling place here in Wisconsin, aside from our most recent presidential election, when I was proud to wait to cast my vote for a historic candidate. In my view, too busy to vote is not really a valid excuse. It’s easy to register, it’s easy to vote. It’s a small thing, but it’s important. Your constitution entitles you to this right, which most of us have been blessed with by the accident of our having merely been born in the United States. Try telling the people of Egypt that voting doesn’t matter. I think you will find they don’t agree. With so few people actually showing up to vote, you can’t say that your one lowly vote doesn’t matter, because it does.
Hope and change. So many people were inspired by candidate Barak Obama’s message. But I fear that the enthusiasm and energy has petered out. Hope is a wonderful thing. Hope can sustain us through hard times and inspire us to go on. But change, that’s something different. Real substantive change, whether on a personal level or a national level takes more than hope. It requires thoughtful action, “Courage to change the things you can”, and the audacity to try. It requires stepping out of your comfort zone to make things different. And it starts with paying attention, and showing up, turning hope into action. Have you been paying attention? Will you show up? What will you do to make your voice heard, to work for your values in your community?
I still have hope, and I am inspired to take action for change. I hope that you are, too.
I've heard a lot of "well I didn't vote for Scott Walker," going around. If you live in Dane county and voted, you probably didn’t. Perhaps the better question is, "So you didn't vote for him, fine, did you vote AT ALL?" While some people were not paying attention, or too busy, or too whatever, somebody did elect him... 52% of the people who showed up and exercised their democratic rights.
I will confess that I have not voted in every election I've been eligible to vote in. But I try to make concerted effort to do so, whether it's a primary election for local concerns or a national election. The older I get, the stronger I've come to feel that voting is not just a right, but a civic duty as an American citizen. I find it disrespectful to the hard work of all the leaders of the civil rights movement who fought and sacrificed to ensure this right for all our citizens to just sit back and essentially throw away that precious gift of choice. I refuse to be disenfranchised by personal apathy.
Who do you want to choose for you? Who are those 20-25% who made it to the polls yesterday? Do their values align with yours? Maybe, maybe not. "I was busy, I didn't have time, I forgot." It’s easy to make excuses.
Unfortunately, I've never had a substantial wait at any polling place here in Wisconsin, aside from our most recent presidential election, when I was proud to wait to cast my vote for a historic candidate. In my view, too busy to vote is not really a valid excuse. It’s easy to register, it’s easy to vote. It’s a small thing, but it’s important. Your constitution entitles you to this right, which most of us have been blessed with by the accident of our having merely been born in the United States. Try telling the people of Egypt that voting doesn’t matter. I think you will find they don’t agree. With so few people actually showing up to vote, you can’t say that your one lowly vote doesn’t matter, because it does.
Hope and change. So many people were inspired by candidate Barak Obama’s message. But I fear that the enthusiasm and energy has petered out. Hope is a wonderful thing. Hope can sustain us through hard times and inspire us to go on. But change, that’s something different. Real substantive change, whether on a personal level or a national level takes more than hope. It requires thoughtful action, “Courage to change the things you can”, and the audacity to try. It requires stepping out of your comfort zone to make things different. And it starts with paying attention, and showing up, turning hope into action. Have you been paying attention? Will you show up? What will you do to make your voice heard, to work for your values in your community?
I still have hope, and I am inspired to take action for change. I hope that you are, too.