Rockin' the vote
Election Day!
Americans complain about government, but many neglect their basic right and civic duty to vote. I've seen multiple postings on Facebook trying to convince people one way or the other, which usually alienates the audience.
I've seen an ecard and posts which say, if you don't vote, you lose the right to complain about government.
No, you can still complain - freedom of speech and so on. But we'll all think you are a whiny baby who should try to fix things instead of just talking about it. (Joking! I complain about a lot of things.)
Anyway, my point in posting is to say - vote if you can. I just walked over to my polling place (no car) with my 19-year-old daughter, who voted for the very first time. We hadn't discussed beforehand who we were voting for, but we talked about it a little on the walk home.
I voted for the maximum of everything possible - one in the races where one is appropriate, and the maximum for the nonpartisan races where more than one position is available. I also voted on the subject of judge retention (which is a huge thing in Iowa after the gay marriage ruling a few years ago). And the 911 thing in Webster County.
Amanda voted for a smaller number of offices. Which is fine. She made the walk over to the polling place and exercised her duty as a citizen of the United States. Which makes me really happy.
If you haven't voted yet, if you are on the fence about a particular race, don't know enough about those candidates or don't like either candidate in that race, you can skip that part. Your vote still counts in the races you select.
We are a privileged country to have this right - men and women, old and young (over 18), any race, religion, cultural background - as long as you are a citizen of this country, your vote can count.
Americans complain about government, but many neglect their basic right and civic duty to vote. I've seen multiple postings on Facebook trying to convince people one way or the other, which usually alienates the audience.
I've seen an ecard and posts which say, if you don't vote, you lose the right to complain about government.
No, you can still complain - freedom of speech and so on. But we'll all think you are a whiny baby who should try to fix things instead of just talking about it. (Joking! I complain about a lot of things.)
Anyway, my point in posting is to say - vote if you can. I just walked over to my polling place (no car) with my 19-year-old daughter, who voted for the very first time. We hadn't discussed beforehand who we were voting for, but we talked about it a little on the walk home.
I voted for the maximum of everything possible - one in the races where one is appropriate, and the maximum for the nonpartisan races where more than one position is available. I also voted on the subject of judge retention (which is a huge thing in Iowa after the gay marriage ruling a few years ago). And the 911 thing in Webster County.
Amanda voted for a smaller number of offices. Which is fine. She made the walk over to the polling place and exercised her duty as a citizen of the United States. Which makes me really happy.
If you haven't voted yet, if you are on the fence about a particular race, don't know enough about those candidates or don't like either candidate in that race, you can skip that part. Your vote still counts in the races you select.
We are a privileged country to have this right - men and women, old and young (over 18), any race, religion, cultural background - as long as you are a citizen of this country, your vote can count.
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