Okay, I am still on the political thing today. Simple questions – Are you registered to vote? Are you going to vote? There is no doubt that the two tickets before us present two historic choices. I hope that energizes the electorate to vote. But if the past several presidential elections are any indication, many of those eligible to vote will not vote. In 2004, 64% of eligble voters went to the polls. In 2000, it was 55%..1996 – 49%… 1992 – 56% and in 1988 only 50% of those who could vote actually did. How pathetic is that? Freedom is ours and I fear we take it for granted. Perhaps now, in a time of war, more than ever we should vote to make our feelings known. The cynical will say that what happens inside the beltline of Washington, DC isn’t the real world – that their vote doesn’t matter. Really? Don’t you remember how close it was in Florida in 2000? 537 votes. 2004 was close and 2008 is a bit of a horse race too. In this election, depending on where you live, your vote may matter, it may not.

What does matter is that you exercise your right to vote. How many of those 204 nations participating in the Olympics have truly free elections and a peaceful transfer of power? How many have achieved freedom to vote because of the ideal and example we set and maybe because of the blood we shed. I don’t know the answer to that but I know it is more than just a couple. And today, Americans are fighting again to protect our freedom. You may or may not believe in the war but you can vote to show what you believe. When you vote you are saying I believe in the United States and I believe in our future. When you don’t vote you are saying you don’t believe in our nation and that we are on the downward slide. I have traveled enough to know that most of you don’t feel that way so vote on this election day. It matters.

I know work and politics don’t mix but you can certainly encourage people to register to vote and to give them some time to vote on election day. Anything else would be un-American.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 6th, 2008 at 1:58 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.