Lately on the news shows they have been interviewing people to ask them if they are going to vote on Tuesday. Most of them have answers like “if I have the time,” or, a list of complaints about why voting is inconvenient or a down right hardship. More than any revelations about the politicians, this is absolutely stunning to me. Where are the Americans who say I would never miss it, or, I love to vote because it means I live in a free democracy.
I will confess I have always loved to study history. To me it never seemed like dusty names and dates but a great big epic novel. Some of my favorite points in history are when oppressed people rise up, make their voices heard and create a society or movement that is bigger and better than any one person. America is one the biggest examples of this happening. I love being an American. I couldn’t wait for my eighteenth birthday because I could register to vote. I remember going to the Post Office that day and registering. To me that birthday outshines my 16th and getting my drivers license. Lots of people get to drive but only Americans get to vote in America. Since then I have only missed two local elections – one when I was in the emergency room with stomach flu and one when we almost lost Boo. When I went out of state to college I made sure to get an absentee ballot. After 22 years of voting my heart still flutters with excitement when I finally get my turn at the voting booth.
Why doesn’t every American realize what a great privilige it is to go and vote? Do they not know that
• when you are tired and cold and your feet hurt standing in line to vote that the soldiers at Valley Forge starved, froze, and had no shoes for their feet in the snow while they fought for our right to vote;
• when it seems like you don’t have time or it is inconvenient, how inconvenient it was for the thousands of Native Americans to be removed from their land and lives and forced to march on the Trail of Tears because they had no voice and could not vote for a President who would follow the rulings of the United States Supreme Court;
• when it seems like too much time to study the ballot measures or the candidates positions that African Americans were not allowed to read or vote and had to overcome much to claim their rights to an education and a vote;
• when we complain in front of our children about having to go vote we forget that many suffragettes were mothers and were imprisoned for demanding women’s voting rights;
• there are American soldiers risking all, right now, so that we can live in a free society and vote without fear.
There is much made about making voting more pleasant and convenient and easier and not “disenfranchising” anyone. I think we need to do the best job we can to make voting accessible to all. However, maybe those who care too little to make an effort should stay home anyway. Americans who truly care about their country will show up no matter what. I guess my point is quit whining and go vote and if you can’t be bothered to vote please don’t whine when you don’t like what is decided in the election. Freedom isn’t free and voting isn’t hard. Be a patriot and go vote!