U.S. Politics 101
It's that time again …. national elections. What does it mean to you? Do you consider yourself politically active? Or is it simply an annoyance? Do you hit the channel selector every time a political ad comes on? Or have you simply tuned it all out?
The preamble to the U.S. Constitution states: "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." And yet we wonder, just who are "we, the people"? The Constitution establishes who may vote and how we are represented in the national governing body. How many of us are aware of this?
Citizens in the colonies that were to become the United States of America had none of the rights and privileges we take for granted now. They could not vote on issues that affected their lives and livelihood. "No taxation without representation" was a rallying cry of the revolution. And yet today, we allow that to take place because we are "represented" by people who were elected by a minority of the population. Recent voting statistics show that only 49% of eligible voters cast ballots in 1996. In 1994, the number was even lower … 39%. That's pretty frightening!
No words provide as powerful a reason to exercise your right to vote as those of Abraham Lincoln on the occasion of the dedication of the monument for those who died at Gettysburg:
"It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the
unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before
us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause
for which they gave the last full measure of devotion . . . that we here
highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain . . .that this
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom . . .and that government
of the people . . . by the people . . . for the people . . . shall not
perish from this earth."
It's said that those who don't exercise their right to vote get what they deserve. That may be true, but we have a unique privilege and one that carries an obligation. How can you make your vote count? Investigate the voter registration requirements for your state and be eligible to cast your vote on Election Day. Study the issues, read the platforms of all the candidates and vote for the candidate of your choice. Don't let your destiny be determined by a minority of the population!
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U.S. Politics 101