I was shocked by the map that AARP published in its July/August 2018 Bulletin:
This is a national map of eligible voter participation in the 2014 mid-term elections. In only six states did more than half of eligible voters actually vote. In fourteen states 30 percent or fewer of eligible voters participated, which means that in these states, a mere third of voters determined the elections outcomes.
This, of course, is not how democracy works. Democracy requires every one of its citizens to participate by voting; otherwise it is not a democracy. None of us can afford to become complacent. Our personal lives consume us, but we must remember that we live freely because of the foundation of the democracy we share.
By voting we give voice to our preferences by supporting as our representatives in government those who believe as we do. If we do not vote, we have no voice, no say in what happens to our country.
November is not far away. SPEAK UP!
Copyright 2018by Shirley Domer
2 comments:
Well said. I wonder how many of the non-voters are overwhelmed by working more than one job, raising kids on their own, lacking transportation or dealing with poor health. Some, probably -- but surely not all.
I'm surprised by the number of people who tell me that politics, "isn't their thing." I remember learning in a university class that many of us students at the time didn't appreciate living in a democracy or having freedom as much as other things, and our professor pointed out that we were taking something for granted that previous generations had died for.
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