Vote... Vote... Vote... Vote...
It would be easy in this bizarro political season to decide that cynicism is the only philosophy that still matches our democratic system.
A lot of voters are angry, adrift, alienated.
Well, this is your chance to dive back in the pool. One of these men -- Doug Hoffman or Bill Owens -- will represent you and shape your nation in very challenging times.
I know it's a cliche, but it's also true: Americans have fought and died for your right to cast this ballot.
What's more, a lot of Americans have faced far more difficult and ambiguous decisions than the one you have to make today.
Think you're choosing between the lesser of two evils? Do you wish you had a better choice? Welcome to the real world.
This is the world that democracy operates within. Our politicians are real people. I've met both of these candidates. Both strike me as flawed; but they're also decent, civic-minded men.
They also represent starkly different views about the world, the future of the 23rd district and our country.
So go do what is, in every sense of the word, your duty. It may be a hard choice, it may be an easy choice. The only bad choice is not voting.
Labels: election09
posted by Brian Mann @ 11/03/2009 06:30:00 AM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
"The only bad choice is not voting."
How true.
Well said Brian. Go and vote folks.
Another argument for voting even if you're not crazy about your choices is that if few people vote, candidates with a narrow agenda have a greater chance of winning because voters sharing those "special interests" will come out to vote.
Casting our ballots is a vote for a democratic (or republicn if you will) form of government. My father used to cry on inauguration day even if he didn't like the new leader, impressing on me that the transition to power in many other parts of the world is accomplished through violence rather than the ballot box.
So yes, please do vote today and every election day. It's our sacred duty.
In reference to wakeupdon's comment about the transition of power through the election process in this country - It hasn't been perfect, that's for sure but I have two distinct memories. 1- the 2000 election which didn't go the way I would have preferred and it was greatly flawed but, in the end, the transition of power happened in the most extreme presidential election we've had... and not one shot was fired, not one drop of blood spilled. We worked through the process and the whole world watched us as we did it. 2- This past inauguration when I watched George Bush and Barack Obama standing next to each other on the back steps of the Capitol, chatting along with their wives while waiting for the Bushes to board the helicopter and fly off to Texas. Two almost extreme opposite political and ideological presidencies standing side by side. That personified how the power transitions in this country. I love going into that polling both every election day - it's when I feel the most proud to be an American.
Mark, Saranac Lake
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