This marks the 300th entry into this blog on this calendar year. By chance, it happens to be about a very important subject, and also marks the second time today that I am making an entry, which is relatively rare. But this day is too important not to make some kind of mention of. Election Day is today.
I know that many thoughtful people who are sick and tired of the same old same old are advocating not voting, and it's understandable. Corruption has run rampant and seems at an all-time high. Politics seems nauseating for people of all manner of political persuasion, and politicians seem somehow inaccessible. Big money seems in control no matter what your beliefs, and sometimes, it truly feels like your vote does not matter. It is understandable to lose faith at times, when you see the pitiful state of things.
But that said, I am reminded of a picture that I once saw on the subject on, of all places, Facebook. It showed the back of a slave that had been whipped to the point that it seemed there was not a square inch of skin that had not been affected. I cannot remember the precise caption, but it urged the reader to go out and vote, because he could not.
It was a powerful image, and we can go back to recent history in South Africa, when the lines for the first multiracial election in that country's history seemed to stretch on forever. The majority of people there were blacks, and had been prohibited from voting in their lives up until that moment. So, voting was a momentous occasion, and it this lesson was not lost on them.
Nor was it lost to those in our own country here, where we also saw those who were disenfranchised and struggling to win the de facto right to vote. In theory, on paper, that right had been secured a century before. But the reality was something else, and it was a right that they had to win back, in effect. They deemed it important enough to fight for under very difficult conditions, and with tremendous efforts at intimidation. Yet, they hung on, and won.
In fact, the right to vote has been the cornerstone of expanding rights since the very first days of our nation, when voting was restricted to property owning whites - and remember, they had to fight the British to win that right, establishing the first modern day democracy. But that democracy was narrow, initially, and certainly did not extent to everyone. As mentioned, blacks and other minorities gained the right to vote much later on. The women's suffrage movement gave more than half the population the ability to vote, and women constituted the majority of the electorate yesterday. But the right to vote did not come easily or painlessly. It was a long, hard struggle, but those who wanted that right to vote kept up the fight, relentlessly, until they got it.
Today, we find these arguments still relevant. With all of the controversies in states, most famously and notably Florida and Ohio, where measures were taken to make sure votes in the wrong direction would be prevented, it is not a right that we should take for granted, or even get frustrated with. If there is blame, blame it on fellow voters for not being active enough, or perhaps patriotic enough, to keep themselves truly informed. But do not blame the process of voting itself and claim it is not working, because people vote for candidates that do not deserve the offices they seek and, all too often, win.
We had a storm thrust on us recently that cast this election in the shadows, for once. It made history, for many of the wrong reasons, and it was beyond our control.
Perhaps even more persistent than that storm is the storm of cynicism. That one vote does not really matter. Or, that no matter who gets in, it won't make much of a difference, because special interests (many believe Wall Street banks) are the real rulers of the land. But if we make our vote heard, and we don't have to vote for any, or either, major party, than we are taking part in the system of governance that has become a time-honored tradition. If you are cynical, then be cynical towards Americans themselves who have failed to utilize the election process in the manner in which it was initially envisioned by the founders. We have to remain informed, and active. Most people, frankly, fail to do this. They are at fault, more than self-serving politicians in the pay of Wall Street or other special interests. That still does not excuse inaction, or the triumph of cynicism, which only exacerbates the problem. It only adds to the air of negativity, and we have to do better as a country. We have before in our history, and I believe we still can again, despite living in and too often yielding to the age of extreme cynicism (and I fault myself for being too cynical at times).
However, today, we as a nation make history, and we can and will control it. We elect our President for the next four years. Either we elect the incumbent and give him four more years, or we elect a new President. Either way, this will be remembered in the history books. Today, we make history.
Some affected by the storm perhaps cannot vote. But if you can, make the effort. Take power into your own hands. Make a difference, rather than making excuses, and remember that many suffered, and many lost everything, to secure your right to be a part of history today.
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