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Get Out and Vote
Posted 10-19-2000
We are a few weeks away from the first general election of the twenty-first
century, and I want to encourage everyone that reads this article to please
get out and vote. Whether you are Democrat, Republican, Reform Party, Green
Party, Libertarian, or not a member of any party, it is so vital to our
country that you participate in the political process.
Presidential elections
usually turn out a higher percentage of voters than any other election, but
over the years we have seen a decline in the turnout even in the race for
President of the United States. In fact, I believe for the first time ever,
turnout in the 1996 Presidential Election was below fifty percent. It should
be a source of embarrassment to us collectively that so few of us
participate in the political process. If you saw the news about Serbia’s
recent election, ninety-eight percent of eligible voters turned out, and
many had to wait in line for hours to vote. Have we become so jaded, lazy,
or uninspired that we think it doesn’t matter or we don’t care?
This November’s election is
historic for a number of reasons. As I mentioned, we will elect the first
President of the twenty-first century and the first of a new millennium.
Only twice in history have any generations of Americans had the opportunity
to elect the first President of a new century. To be the first group of
citizens to elect a President in a new millennium is something that won’t be
experienced again for one thousand years.
Though Bill Clinton is the
first baby boom President, this election is the first to pit two baby
boomers as the primary choices. This election may signal that the World War
II generation will no longer lead our nation, though they most certainly
will affect the election results. Even with the problems in the Middle East,
we are experiencing relative good fortune abroad. We will be electing a
President during what must be the most prosperous economic times in history.
Will that circumstance be a factor in who is elected or will it have no
impact at all?
There are many other
important races on the ballot this year. We will be electing a United States
Senator from Pennsylvania, our Congressional Representatives, one half the
Pennsylvania State Senate is up for election, and all of our State House
Representatives. It would take a book for me to share with you all of the
ways these offices have an impact on our lives. A few ways the offices
affect us are: the laws we live by, the taxes we pay, the programs that help
us, and the infrastructure we travel on. As a county commissioner, I’ll tell
you with certainty that those offices have a great impact on the way I can
serve you. They pass laws that govern and fund the many human services that
the county provides. They pass laws that decide how we generate our own
revenue and how we operate our county government.
Those people elected this
November will make decisions that have an impact on not only our lives, but
also the lives of our children and future generations. Even if you do not
vote, or are not even registered to vote, who is elected will affect your
life. No one lives as a hermit or on some island by themselves. Whether you
like government or not, it is a factor in your life. I believe our founding
fathers created the form of government we have to allow us to make those
choices of who represent us.
As populous and diverse as
our nation has become, government binds us together as one. Participating in
the process that shapes our government, whether the candidates we support
get elected or not, gives us a sense of ownership of what takes place in the
public sector. It brings us together as citizens and as Americans. Saying it
doesn’t matter is just plain wrong, it does matter. So on November 7, 2000,
be responsible citizens and get out and vote. Staying home isn’t protest,
because no one hears your voice. It is heard when you cast you ballot
because you are saying, "I’m a citizen who cares about my country". |
