Why Vote? (From the Archives)

I’ve decided to dip into the way-back machine for this post. I wrote this in October of 2010, in the run-up to the ultimately disasterous midterm elections that year. Some of what I said here is now dated, but the general gist of what I said still holds true today. Here it is…

When I was a homeowner, I was compelled to belong to a homeowners association. The annual dues were absorbed into the mortgage. This irritated me no end.
Nobody asked me if I wanted to be part of the homeowners association. The meetings were normally scheduled weekday evenings, often before I was home from
work. Even when I could have gone, however, I chose not to. Why should I, after all I never asked to be a member in the first place. Then, one day, I received
a letter. It seems I somehow ran afoul of the association. I forget what the issue was, something about the front yard. Whatever the issue was, I began
to grumble about some arbitrary rule I was made to follow by this association, and then it dawned on me. I was a member. I had the chance to have a say
in policy (theoretically, anyway), and I chose not to. As a result, I had no right to grumble. To me, that is the case for anyone who chooses not to vote
in elections. It’s certainly your right to not participate, but if you ultimately feel dissatisfaction with the outcome you don’t have much room to complain
about things. So, educate yourself, and when Nov. 2 rolls around, vote. If you feel like we’re heading down the road to rack and ruin, vote for those who
you think will restore sanity. If you feel like we’re making positive progress, vote for those making that progress. Whatever the case, don’t sit it out.
Democracy works only when more people participate than not.

About Kevin LaRose

cat daddy extraordinaire, creator of mouthwatering dishes, able to teach a language geek enough history and politics that she removes her head from the language books for at least an hour a day...

About Kevin LaRose

cat daddy extraordinaire, creator of mouthwatering dishes, able to teach a language geek enough history and politics that she removes her head from the language books for at least an hour a day...

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