With elections looming in the not-too-distant future, I am taking this opportunity to encourage everyone to vote.
In my house, there is a firm rule: If you are old enough to vote but you don’t, you forfeit the right to complain about elected officials, referendum or charter questions, bond decisions ”“ anything on a ballot you ignored by not voting.
If you didn’t care enough in the first place to head out the door, step into the voting booth and make a choice, for or against someone or something, than whining or complaining about election results is not allowed.
In this country, we are blessed with the ability to choose our leaders, form policy, change how things work, direct financial outcomes and more. That all happens, with or without you, but casting your ballot puts you right in the middle of things.
There is no excuse not to vote. The absentee ballot system allows anyone to have his or her voice heard. The homebound, those hampered by crazy work schedules, vacations to faraway places, none of that can keep anyone from casting their ballot.
My parents, their friends, the numerous relatives in my life, they all voted. They participated in the process that keeps this country great. They believed their vote counted and would make a difference. They talked ”“ some conversations might have been called arguments ”“ about the issues, and campaigned for candidates and causes.
I remember the excitement when John F. Kennedy ran for president. Enthusiasm was palpable, energy high and it was all very catchy. I had Kennedy buttons, red, white and blue-brimmed “Vote Democrat” hats, and fliers, which I handed out energetically and with great conviction. I was 10 or 11 ”“ not even close to voting age ”“ and impressionable.
That experience, and others, shaped me, and I learned it was not only a privilege to vote, but my responsibility. Now, not every election reaches the height or drama of choosing a president, but they are all important.
On Nov. 4, we will choose a governor, and U.S., state and local legislators. It is your opportunity to weigh in on a citizen initiative, decide six bond issues and, in some areas, local questions.
The puzzler for me at election time is making my picks. Studying candidates and issues can be time-consuming and sometimes tedious. We all have busy, hectic lives, and the work behind making informed choices can be overwhelming.
Forget the television ads blasting over the airwaves. To my mind, they raise more questions than they answer. I watch the news, read this paper and others, and a variety of magazines. I visit candidate and issue-oriented websites, and poll family and friends for their opinions and insight.
One thing I relied on, as part of my decision-making process, was the information provided in our newspaper’s endorsements. I knew the honest, hard-working editors and writers who wrote the endorsements. I had some idea of the time and effort they spent researching their work.
And I know, because our former managing editor told me, she found the opportunity to question candidates face to face valuable and helpful. Answers were not filtered through speech writers or campaign teams, and crafted to fit the lead evening news story as tidy little sound bites, or to run as a front-page news story.
I think this paper’s decision to discontinue editorials and endorsements was not wise. In addition to offering news and feature stories, and entertainment like comics and puzzles, I believe a paper should have editorials, and pieces like the short thumbs up or down that we once had. The endorsement and editorials were a source of information, insight and viewpoints that might not have been popular, but they made people stop and think, which was their purpose.
Now don’t forget to vote, because if you visit my house, no whining is allowed, and conversation often turns to politics.
— Donna Landry is the legal/classified advertising specialist in the Journal Tribune administrative office.
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