Vote. Vote? Vote!
So I live in this small town in rural Vermont - Brattleboro. We are famous for our ski jump, our “never let the 60’s go community”, having resolutions passed to arrest Bush or Cheney should they ever pass through, Articles of impeachment against Bush, a very politically active culture, Anti-Nuke Demonstrations and nudity.
PETA Demonstration
But just the other day was election day. And this over the top political atmosphere needed a defibrillator to bring it to life. Only 16% of registered voters showed up to the poll to vote for a myriad of different town seats, select-board, town meeting reps, school board and so on. Will I agree that it’s not as sexy as voting for Barrack Obama or any President for that matter - Yes - I agree to that. That being said however a town election is on of the single most important elections you can show up to. These are folks you share grocery lines with, these are the folks that are spending your property tax money, these are the folks that effect your bottom line. So where the hell was everyone? I couldn’t tell you. I heard folks say they forgot, it wasn’t in the paper, I didn’t see lawn signs to remind me, they were tired of politics and so on. It was a long list of nothing frankly, to me there’s no excuse for a 16 percent voter turn out, none what so ever.
But Brattleboro isn’t the only community where this is happening. It’s going on all over the United States. Folks make the excuse that their vote doesn’t count, that no matter how they vote nothing will change. Well I’m here to tell you that it’s just not true. If you stand up for what you believe in, your beliefs become reality (unless your last name is Palin… just sayin’). But it takes some work, and it certainly takes dragging your ass to the polls once a year.
This lady didn't get to the polls in her Escalade - that I can tell you.
Our political process has been taken for granted, the rights afforded you as a US citizen are over looked. Folks have adopted this wait until tomorrow attitude that we need to abolish. The lady in the picture above most likely did arrive to the polls in her air conditioned SUV with the DVD player keeping the kiddies occupied. I’m sure it was quite the opposite, she probably walked for hours while in a snipers cross hair to cast her vote. She was never able to do it and new that now matter what happened to her, her single vote could change things forever. Remarkable don’t you think? But instead our process has become boring to us, it has been taken for granted and nobody wants to make the effort.
It’s a sad state of affairs if you factor in what was given up for the rights we enjoy (or not) now. The fore fathers of this country died in an effort to gain independence, wars have been waged to keep this independence, yet every year we take it for granted. But we’ve become this nation of tweeting, facebooking zero attention span drones with our eye on entitlement that can be financed at zero percent.
But if you need something to cling to that can help you get to the polls. Just remember voting is sexy! What the hell is up with that?
