Primary Elections; Why Vote?
When I attained the
legal age in which to exercise my American freedom to cast a ballot in this
democratic society, I always ensured that I was there, regardless of it being a
local, primary or national election, as my opinion is " If you don't vote,
then don't complain about who gets elected"
From then on, I
always voted, via absentee ballot when I was away at college, and in person when
possible. It always amazes me at the cornucopia of election propaganda that
floods the election site, abet the legal distance from the poling location, but
a last attempt to sway the undecided voter or to entice a last minute change of
opinion. In this modern day and age, the mails are filled with candidate
propaganda, the TV is flooded with 30 second blurbs lauding each one's ability,
and my pet peeve, the phone call, which my caller ID identifies as "Unknown",
which is a vain attempt to lure me into believing an unseen individual or
computer recording is a valid reason to vote for someone.
The primary elections
are usually party based, where each registered demographic will vote to decide
which candidate is best suited or not, to represent the nation in the national
election. BUT, the primaries are often the venue for local elections,
which in themselves, can be very important to the local welfare, as these
individuals can decide on raising local taxes, changing property assessments,
building a school in which neighborhood, and serve as a judge or as head of the
city.
Again, apathy often
sits in, where a general opinion is "What does my vote or one vote count?" By
not voting, you neglect a often maligned right, which other countries would
fight and die for. With sufficient apathy, the country will decay into an
uncaring mass of clones, where life becomes a drudge, and we merely exist from
day to day. Look at history, where the right to vote was won by the blood of
patriots, where women had to fight just to be able to cast a ballot and where
decisions that affect the welfare of the nation, were decided on your vote.
Your vote always
counts and never surrender this right, as getting it back may be impossible.
Vote, as it only takes a few minutes, unless you are in my polling location,
where the lines after work may wrap around the block, but we always vote,
regardless of the timeliness. I am very grateful for the modern age technology,
as I can now perform my own research on the candidates, where in the past, one
had to depend on the newspapers or TV to deliver information.
I research each
individual, as to prior performance in other political offices, political
leanings and stand on specific topics, dependability and decisiveness, and
ability to make that unpopular decision, if it is the best interest of the
country or my own locale. I review each one, from president to the local
magistrate, as you never know when those decisions could impact you or your
family. I decide by candidate, rather than party, as voting blindly make
not elect the best person.
VOTE!!
Two ending quotes -
Mark Twain - If you
don't read a newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read a newspaper, you are
misinformed.
The reason that
congressmen and senators campaign so vigorously for reelection is that they
don't want to live as we do under the laws they have passed.
That's my opinion and
I'm sticking to it.
