Picture by nasirkhan
Now that the Fourth of July is over and flags have been put away and all of the firecrackers have been set off, it is time to do the work of a real American.
Get registered to vote!!!!
We partied and listened endlessly to that song by Lee Greenwood. People blew off firecrackers for a week. Oh, it was a good time. But, in my opinion, if you are really a proud American you will get into the voting booth this November.
Oh, I hear the roar of the excuses not to vote.
- “All them politicians are crooks.”
- “All of them are the same, none vote for me.”
- “If I register to vote, they will call me for jury duty.”
Image by Ladyheart
Forget those flimsy excuses because they are worth squat. Instead, look into the eyes of a soldier and say you don’t vote. Especially those men and women who went to Iraq and Afghanistan to “protect our freedoms.” By not voting, you are telling those people their efforts were for nothing.
Or how about you tell your excuses not to vote to those people who stand in line all day and risk getting shot or bombed or beaten because they want to vote. I remember seeing those pictures and wondering what those people would think if they heard barely 41% of our population votes.
Makes that couch look like a sorry excuse for not getting up, doesn’t it.You don’t like being called out for your lack of effort? I am not sure I care.
Being an American Citizen is much like being a parent – it is a responsibility. Oh sure there are a lot of fun things about being a couple/citizen but when it is time to do the dirty work of changing a diaper or voting for candidates people disappear quicker than my triple chocolate brownies.
In my town, people came out to vote in the last election because there were people up for the school board and village representatives. But county-wide it was a small turnout. Our country saw larger turnouts for mid-term elections and a bunch of wide -eyed republican reformers – were elected to office. Some like Michele Bachmann retained their seat and have come to the forefront of the political scene.
(By the way, I heard a nasty rumor she is from Canada but I have not confirmed that yet.)
My point is if you really want to make a difference, make a change in the way your government works, hate the guys currently in office, then get out and vote.
Picture by kenn kiser
People, throughout the centuries of our nation’s history, died so we would have this RIGHT and not using it is like listening to the evil one. The more you don’t go to church, the more Satan is victorious. The more people who do not go to the polls, the more those terrorists, who hate freedom, win.
Which side do you want to see “winning?”
Notes from Rumbly Cottage 
I debated someone last night – he and I are on ‘opposing’ sides. All he did was use the same ol’ same ol’ arguments and talking points to defend his side. I’m tired of the same ol’ same ol’. Both sides have problems – both sides need to be less stubborn and more open minded. Argh. I’ll be voting. For certain.
I believe you are right on this. Both sides are becoming idealogogs. It is time to step away from that and actually work to make good solutions.
I will most certainly be voting.
It will be exciting, this time around, as my daughter, 17, takes an AP government class that will end in June of 2012. She will be a first-time voter come November 2012.
Both she and I are fairly Libertarian (she is a more liberal leaning libertarian, and I tend to the conservative side)…so, we’ll see what is the what as things begin to sift away…
so far, I am completely unimpressed by anyone…including our sitting pres.
the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 is coming…I wonder if that will unite our nation once again to our strong roots of democracy…
blessings
jane
I wonder about that anniversary as well. I hope that we can finally leave Iraq and Afghanistan but I know the Taliban will do their worst once we are gone.
I was quite excited when my son registered to vote and did so in his first election last year. Now I need to make sure he gets an absentee ballot.
You need to have Vote Mobs down there like we did up here in Canada!
This sounds interesting, please explain.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Vote+mentality/4659482/story.html
Thank You for getting this message out. I won’t get on my rant about why certain people shouldn’t vote in their effort to retain their welfare status, but that’s a whole other topic. I also won’t go down the path that voting in a federal election is not a “right.” I will however say that I am sick of all the worthless excuses, as you have pointed out. In fact, if you care that little about your future then maybe you should stay home and not vote. After all, if you are of the opinion that voting is a waste of time for what ever your reason, you are likely to be part of our national problems and we don’t need your random ill guided vote anyway. If you are going to vote at least know who, what and why you are voting for that person. Use your power of individual choice and learn about the candidates. Look at all of the candidates history and background. It’s your responsibilty to our country to vote with knowledge, not because someone else told you who to vote for. Take responsibilty for your own action and vote for the person YOU believe in. Don’t be a follower. Vote with independence and knowledge. We will be a stronger country for it.
Great post Rumbley!
In Chicago, we have ‘committeemen’ who help you vote. Some of the people they take to the polls go a couple of times – in one day.
I will say that I feel voting is a necessary part of our life. If there are people willing to die for our right to vote, then we need to do it. Otherwise it is paramount to spitting in a soldier’s eye as far as I am concerned.
Here in Wisconsin you don’t have to wait till November 2012. We’ve got recall elections galore! And maybe more depending on how this summer goes. The state is still pretty divided ( thanks to our illustrious governor) so anything goes.
Oh, Jeanne, you have a mess up there.
It wasn’t that long ago that some people spent their entire adult lives working to extend voting privileges to everyone. Those courageous reformers might be shocked to know what a small percentage of today’s eligible voters actually exercise that privilege.
Excellent post, Rumbly.
And that is why it gets me so upset. I don’t care what color you are or what sex or ethnic heritage – people need to get out and vote. You start digging into the history of only the suffergette (sp) movement and you see some horror stories.