This article shouldn’t be necessary.
In fact, it shouldn’t be necessary for anyone to ever have to encourage American citizens to vote. The Founding Fathers used a lot of ink explaining how important citizen voting is to this Republic. All that ink tells me voting is one of the most important duties an American citizen has.
Abraham Lincoln believed in that concept when he said, “…that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” President Lincoln understood that our Constitution was written to guarantee that the power of the Government over people should always be subject to the will of the governed.
The mechanism for citizens to exercise their power over the Government was and is the vote. The power given to each one of us as American citizens is both awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time. When an informed citizen goes to the poll and in privacy searches his or her heart and votes to the best of their ability, the results can be amazing. However, when an uninformed citizen votes without thought, or worse stays home in the belief that their vote doesn’t make a difference then we all reap the consequences.
I don’t think I’m being over-dramatic when I say that the act of voting is the single most important duty that has been assigned to citizens. There are few things that affect the destiny of our Nation more than that of a citizen making their preferences known through their vote. Back when I was in school, we had to take a class called “Civics” where we learned about the founding of our Country and the sacrifices that citizen-leaders made to create this new experiment called America. We were taught the importance of the gift we’ve been given to live in a country where on a regular basis, the people are asked to select their leaders and governmental power is transferred peaceably from the previous administration to the next. I think we forget sometimes how unique and amazing that process really is. We tend to forget how many people live in places around the world where power is never tranferred without violence. We learned that sometimes it is necessary for individuals to get involved with politics by running for office, joining organizations that believe the same things we believe or simply educating ourselves and speaking our minds to anyone who will listen.
I am convinced that the Founders were far ahead of their time when they put into the Constitution the rights of freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and of course freedom of religion because all of these freedoms are necessary to create a confident and informed citizenry. They knew that informed citizens who participate in the process are the best way to ensure the future of our Country. They included those specific freedoms because they understood that voting by itself simply wasn’t going to be enough.
Every citizen, no matter their race, gender or religion must arm themselves with facts and knowledge before casting their ballot. They must understand the importance of each decision they make in regards to votes because the survival of our Republic depends upon it. Contrary to what many people think, casting a ballot is not supposed to be as simple as taking a taste test between Coke and Pepsi. It is the fundemental expression of our freedom and therefore deserves some work and some attention to detail.
Theodore Roosevelt once gave a speech where he said [emphasis mine]:
The people who say that they have not time to attend to politics are simply saying that they are unfit to live in a free community. Their place is under a despotism; or if they are content to do nothing but vote, you can take despotism tempered by an occasional plebiscite, like that of the second Napoleon. In one of Lowell’s magnificent stanzas about the Civil War he speaks of the fact which his countrymen were then learning, that freedom is not a gift that tarries long in the hands of cowards: nor yet does it tarry long in the hands of the sluggard and the idler, in the hands of the man so much absorbed in the pursuit of pleasure or in the pursuit of gain, or so much wrapped up in his own easy home life as to be unable to take his part in the rough struggle with his fellow men for political supremacy. If freedom is worth having, if the right of self-government is a valuable right, then the one and the other must be retained exactly as our forefathers acquired them, by labor, and especially by labor in organization, that is in combination with our fellows who have the same interests and the same principles.
Therefore, it is in the arena of ideas that votes are decided and hearts & minds are won. We debate the good of this or the bad of that and through the messy, noisy process of democracy, we come to a consensus expressed on election day. This is not to say that everyone will agree on everything, nor will everyone agree on the same things all the time, but rather it is a fluid and strange process where you and I can come together, argue our pros and cons and through the fire of debate win or lose support for our various positions. And yet, never forgetting that it is this process that produces educated and informed voters.
The sad part is that we forget the importance of the voting process. We decide to vote based on whether there is anything interesting on the ballot or whether there are any real races taking place. We assume that if a candidate runs unopposed, we don’t have to go out and support them because they are going to win anyway. Or we worry that our vote won’t make any difference. Or worse we decide that there’s no difference between the candidates anyway so either one will be just as good.
The fact of the matter is the process of voting is just as important as the vote you cast.
Let’s assume that you’ve decided for whatever reason not to vote. Once you make that decision, you tune out all debate, because it just a lot of noise and it doesn’t matter to you anyway. Once it doesn’t matter anymore, it becomes that much easier to NOT vote the next time.
Apathy isn’t something that happens accidentally. Apathy is a choice. You have to choose to participate or you will choose not to participate. Either way, you are in control of the decision. Taking the time to learn about the candidates, discussing choices with your spouse, discussing your vote with friends, making sure you have been registered to vote, getting a sample ballot, getting into the car and driving to the polling location and casting your ballot are all critical to ensuring that you as a citizen remain engaged in the process of governing this great Country.
Need I remind you that people have fought and died to maintain your opportunity to vote? Need I remind you that women and African-Americans gave their lives fighting for the right to vote? What does it say to those who have given all when you choose to walk away from the political arena?
Our Founders were indeed intelligent people who crafted a government that was constrained by the will of the people and a government that served the people rather than itself. But their design only works when we as citizens struggle to maintain the checks and balances by casting informed votes.
So, it is in defense of voting that MeridianTeaParty.com decided to hold a “Get Out The Vote Rally!” It is in defense of voting that I post these words today. It is in defense of voting that I encourage you to attend this rally and to go vote on November 2nd.
It is the highest form of public service many of us will ever get the opportunity to perform.
It is no less than what we owe the greatest Country in the world.
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