Authors Note: this particular blog post is going to be a bit righteous. I will apologize in advance for the sermon, but not for the message.
After a long campaign journey, the time has mercifully come for each of us to make some choices. I will admit that for me there is a feeling of great relief since I long ago grew weary of what has been a deplorable process. This is not about democrats or republicans, Clinton or Trump, or liberal or conservative – it is about the state of our electoral system and our ability to participate effectively. How many ways can I count the pain of the last two years?
- I am shocked by things said and done by candidates and their supporters that have taken the democratic process to depths it should never see.
- I fear the divisiveness that has been exposed in our country and our inability and even unwillingness to try and bridge those gaps.
- I am stunned by the brazen disregard for the facts and for truth.
- I am disappointed that the important issues have been lost in the chaos, left behind as if they were just trash to be cleaned up after the fight.
- I am dismayed by the choices in front of me.
The list of excuses not to vote is lengthy:
- I don’t like either of the candidates for president.
- I live in a blue/red state, so my vote doesn’t matter.
- I think the process is “rigged”.
- I don’t really understand the issues.
- I can’t be bothered to get a ballot, go to the polls, or even register
Somehow over the years the American psyche has developed an attitude that voting is somehow optional, inconvenient, or just unimportant. Over the last 50 years, voting rates in PRESIDENTIAL election years has averaged between 55 and 65%. That means that almost half of us don’t care, can’t be bothered, couldn’t figure it out. And when you get to the bottom of the disaster that has been the 2016 campaign, perhaps it is this voter apathy that is the root cause. As the expression goes “you get what you pay for.”
And yet in all of the morass and cataclysm, the fact remains that it is more important than ever that we all VOTE. If there is going to be any rescue, any recovery, any redemption from what has been a mind-numbing two years, it can only come through a massive voter turnout.
So let’s debunk the excuses to expose them for exactly what they are.
For the rest of this post, head on over to my LinkedIn page.