This is not a political blog. If you want to know how to vote, there are plenty of other websites that will be more than happy to tell you.
Am I thrilled with either of the presidential candidates? Not really. Does that change my responsibility? Not really.
The larger question is, am I an American citizen who cares about my country? The answer is yes and the mission is clear: VOTE.
As ugly as campaigns get, the vote is sacred. Your ballot is secret, between you and God.
You could go from here to November without revealing your opinion about the issues or publicly throwing your support behind a candidate. Or you could shout your convictions from the rooftops. Doesn’t matter. When you cast your ballot on November 6, 2012, your vote will speak as loudly as Bill Maher’s, Rush Limbaugh’s, Rachel Maddow’s, or Ann Coulter’s.
To me, that’s something to be excited about.
Friends, Romans, countrymen, use these months before election day to prepare. Get registered. Get informed. Get ready.
With courage for the process and respect for the privilege—without getting wrapped up in the histrionics—prayerfully, politely, powerfully, prepare to VOTE.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:13 NIV
I can’t choose just one favorite Schoolhouse Rock song, but Shot Heard ‘Round the World comes close. “The continental rabble took the day!”
Please feel free to use the VOTE 2012 images from this post in your social media.
I agree Aimee. And I will vote. I think what disappoints me is the quality of the available candidates. I guess it takes a lot to be willing to put yourself in that kind of vulnerable position. And my guy will get my vote for that reason and because I want my voice to be heard. One more thing that bugs me is the disrespect and cruelty I see conservatives get and the free pass the liberals seem to have. I have people who have unfriended me on FB because I politely disagreed with Obama on many, many things. It’s borderline spooky how this man has seduced people (in my opinion). He is just a man, like all the others. To dust he too shall return. The worship of him is unnerving….
This unfriending people on Facebook because of political issues floors me. So sorry that happened to you. Same thing happened to several people I know over the Amendment One thing in NC. Have we lost the ability to agree to disagree and remain friends? Do we no longer recognize value in dissenting opinions? Scary stuff. The seeming worship by some of this or any President is precisely the reason dissent must be protected. To quote another Schoolhouse Rock song, no more kings.
I don’t miss an opportunity to vote. But I have few illusions left to me. A fine example is this particular Presidential election. Because of the nature of our two parties, they have no incentive to be very different from each other. I cannot vote for and incumbent president who told the Supreme Court that it was not their job to interpret the Constitution. I grab that example ONLY because it is so easy to express, examples like this rule the day with this man. But the opposing party is so very little better, in my view.
I do have a point. I think voting is no where near enough. We need to be engaged with those within our reach, exercise that freedom of association, before we lose that too. And hurry. Most Americans today have no backbone, and are so tied up in self interest of the moment that they are easily herded by the “news” they consume, and the “education” that laid the foundations for the construct MSM would have us imprisoned in.
cheers.
I hear you, Roy. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. The well-being of our country depends on good people standing up, speaking up, exercising all their rights, and influencing others to do the same. For whatever reason, many people can’t or won’t turn on their megaphone when it comes to politics. They may not even dare to whisper their views. That’s why I think the vote is so powerful and just about as perfect an equalizer as we can get. As you wrote on Facebook, it’s a good place to start.
Roy,
I believe the problem lies within the election system – the fact that whoever gets the most votes out of the bunch wins. Because of this, if we have more than 2 parties, not even half the population has to want the same thing to be able to win! For example, if – strictly in theory – the Greens, the Independents and the Libertarians all had the same “crowd power” as the Democrats and the Republicans, only 21 percent of the votes would decide an election, possibly resulting in a president that 79% did not vote for. So slowly but surely, the smaller parties get out of business, because their voters start to vote for a stronger contestant that’s closer aligned with their views; basically, people strategically vote for the “lesser of evils”. And once it has whittled down to just two “viable” options, like now, the two parties realize that they don’t need to appeal to those who are their strict party base. They need to appeal to the undecided center; to those who are looking for the lesser of evils. And this is when suddenly the two parties will begin to look just alike.
And as for the rest of your post – I recently finished a college course in Political Sciences; an American and California government course required for my graduation. I was sad to see that most people in the first class identified themselves as Republican or Democrat, but could not name one of the Republican nominees; or any other prominent political figure, with the exception of President Obama. Needless to say, this is the class most people fail and repeat multiple times….
I forgot this: a great video explaining why the election is flawed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo All thanks to CGP Grey, maker of easy-to-understand explanation videos on a variety of topics.
The lesser of two evils came to mind when I read Roy’s post and Tiffany’s below. The system isn’t perfect, but it’s served the country well. Kept us from teetering off the road and into the left or right ditch anyway :) . That in itself is an amazing testament to our Constitution.
I love this post. Civic duty is a topic that is very close to my heart. My husband and I spend a lot of time talking with our girls (age 12, 10 and 7) about the government of our country and our individual responsibility to participate. America prospers when every one gives of their individual talents and plays an active role.
My girls laugh that I always vote because I like to give *feedback* to my elected officials—I have always taught them that your privilege of offering feed back is intrinsically tied to your responsibility to vote!
I take a trip to Washington DC just about every year to visit with folks about how I grow beef on my farm. When I return home, I spend a day in our community’s middle school classes talking with the students about our federal government and my experiences participating in the governing of our country. It is so important to teach our youth to both understand and also to play an active role.
In case you missed it, I wrote a blog post after my trip to Washington about a month ago—It’s called “Civic Duty” and can be found on my Feed Yard Foodie blog.
Thanks for sharing such a great post! I am sure that as your little boy gets older you will inspire him to be an involved American.
Anne
We do our best to inspire him. We talk a lot about history, what our views are, and why we believe what we do. He’s seven like your youngest! I hope I can set as fine an example for him as you are setting for your girls.
I subscribe to your blog and others I like, but recently I’ve felt like I spend more time catching up than keeping up! Tonight I read through many of the posts I missed on Feed Yard Foodie. There are numerous excellent and important posts on your site. I loved Civic Duty! Here’s the direct link so other readers can visit. http://bit.ly/L4hBBp
Found you on Facebook and following. And I’m adding you to my blogroll. I like your style and your message. So glad to be connected and honored that you read my blog!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this! It is an important message that needs to go out and reach as many people as possible. I understand that with the current election system, it is discouraging for those in a “set” state to go vote if the state’s the “opposite color” (like Republicans in California, or Democrats in Texas). But we should not forget that along with the presidential elections, we also elect a lot of other officials: Senators, Representatives, state Assemblypersons and local officers alike. In Hungary, we learned something in high school, before we were kicked out there to check off a box on a ballot: whether you vote for or against the current or upcoming government doesn’t mean a thing. But if you don’t vote, you waive your right to complain about it. Because then if someone asks “Why, did you vote against it?” or just the other way, “Why did you vote for it?”, you won’t be hemming and hawing about how you didn’t vote at all.
Because of a multitude of reasons between Hungary and the USA, I haven’t been able to vote for 4 years now; neither here, nor there. In the meantime, an extremist government took over in Hungary, and I couldn’t do anything against it. They passed a constitution that is nearly unconstitutional, and I couldn’t vote against it. And when something comes up here, especially on local ballots that would affect me closely, I can’t vote for it or against it. I can’t wait to get my citizenship together, so I can finally go and officially opine. :D
Nusy, I thought you might like this one :)
As always, you make many excellent points in your comment. Your “in the meantime…” scenario gives me chills. It’s why we must continue to protect the right to vote by exercising it. Can’t wait until you are able to vote in the U.S. Bet you’ll never miss an election.