My personal values pendulum has gotten quite a workout these past few weeks. I’m sick of negative campaigning. I feel like my grandmother (heaven forbid) when I feel the urge to criticize the path our country is following. So on one swing, my pendulum went to “I won’t vote at all.”
But I just couldn’t get comfortable with that option. It would end my years-long voting record for one thing. And if I don’t vote, I’ll forgo my opportunity to shape the next two years and those that follow. If I don’t participate, I can’t complain if I don’t like what happens. Images of my parents sitting at the kitchen table pouring over editorials and voter information and talking about the candidates they would support came forcefully to mind. Voting is what Americans do. That’s how I was raised.
My pendulum swung again. I thought of all the men and women today serving around the world to protect my freedom to vote, of all the generations before them who defended our nation. Freedom may be free, but it’s not cheap. I’m an American, and I have a responsibility to my country.
So I collected the Voter Pamphlet and built a pile of information on my kitchen table. Yesterday, I dropped my ballot in the collection box. I hope you arrive at the same conclusion. Fill out your ballot today and get it in the drop box or the mail before it is too late for this election.
My pendulum is quiet now. Every vote does count. Elections are “by the people.” It’s the right thing to do for the red, white and blue.
