November 5, 2007
It's Your Vote
By Stan Dyer
Many people want to know how I vote and why, and I tell them. I probably tell them more than they want to know. I tell them exactly how I feel. At least they know I do not take my one, lone vote lightly and I do not believe anyone else should either. After all, no matter how big or how small you might think it is, it is still your vote.
Elections stop being about popularity once we graduate college. As adults, we are not electing student body presidents or homecoming queens. We are electing the people who will represent our best interests in the Halls of Government. That is important.
This country represents over 231 years of the first, modern Republic founded on the principles of Democracy; Rule by the
People. That should mean every citizen has a voice in government and every citizen should take part. I admit that the Founding Fathers were a bit off base considering the initial Constitution they drafted denied the right to vote to so many for so long. Even the thought of Democracy seems awkward considering so many of the Founding Fathers owned human slaves. Nonetheless, they were on the right track and what they offered was so much better than "
monarchy", therule by one person, the rule by a king, which was the popular form of government in the 18 th century. We have spent all this time trying to perfect our modern system of government, and, even though we still have a long way to go, we cannot continue forward if people refuse to participate.
By participate, I do not mean taking five minutes to cast a vote for a candidate who tells you how great he is, or choosing a representative because you think that's the one your neighbors would choose. I mean participate by researching the information, reading differing points of view in search of the truth, and, most important of all, knowing what is truly important to you. Then, after doing the research, vote for the best candidate available. How can we select our representatives if we do not know what we want them to represent and how they stand on issues important to us? How better can we voice our opinions than with our votes? In that respect, it is important to keep in mind that ours is a "
Representative Democracy" that relies on the input of the people.
Modern politicians distort the concept of Representative Democracy. Originally, people elected representatives because most people were busy with their farms and their businesses, and did not have hours to spend in the discussion of better government. Even if they did, there were too many of them to fit into the same building and the logistics of debating every issue would tie the whole system up in knots. Therefore, in their wisdom, the Founding Fathers devised a scheme where popularly elected Representatives would voice the opinions of the majority of the people for them. As time passed, those Representatives somehow came to believe that they were in Congress to represent their own personal interests, their own personal beliefs, or what they personally thought was good for the people instead of the true wishes of the majority of the citizenry. The only way to correct this unfortunate turn and get back to true Democracy is for all citizens to become informed voters who understand how important it is to raise their voices and let their voices be heard. It all starts with one vote. That vote could be yours.
Even the Founding Fathers started with one vote. One person expressed his opinion to another and the two found they shared the same voice. They found others with similar thoughts and they all voted to address the King. Many times their words were ignored as they redressed their grievances to King George, but that did not stop them. They kept talking and other people started listening. The more people talked, and the more people listened, the larger the choir of voices grew. It kept on growing into one voice so loud that, eventually, it could not be ignored and a new nation of freedom was born. All of that started with one opinion, one voice and just one, lone vote; one vote just like yours.
Now, we may not like the people chosen to represent us and we may not like the laws they enact, but that, too, is a facet of Democracy. We do not have to like our representatives. We just ask that they represent the majority. Not only is ours Rule by the People, it is also "
Majority Rule". As a democratic group, we must accept the popular wishes of the group as a whole. As for elected representatives, very few of them find favor with me, but still I cast my vote. I am not voting for the candidate who will be my best friend, who will play golf with me, or who will date my daughter. I am voting for the candidate I believe will best represent my issues, my community, my country and "our" Representative Democracy. I understand that none of us gets his way every time. Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose, but I at least know I have the opportunity to exercise my franchise as an American; a franchise I take seriously, and I exercise it. Now, whether you agree or disagree, you know how I feel and you know I will be voting. So, what are you going to do? After all, it's your vote.