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2000 Soap Box Archives Vote It is hard for me to believe how many people never vote in any kind of an election. Everybody complains about one thing or another that the government does but then will not even take a few minutes every couple of years to express their opinion. Is it apathy? Is it ignorance or is it just plain laziness? I tend to blame the latter. It’s such a shame. Do you realize that if even 75 percent of the eligible voters in this nation would vote in any one election that it would shake Washington DC and the statehouses of this country down to their collective toenails We play right into the hands of politicians who have a pretty good idea statistically who is going to turn out to vote. They know who to aim their advertising at and who not to offend. This is a pitiful state of affairs. What it means is that about half of the voters in this country are dictating who is in power and who is not. Or maybe you think that your one vote just doesn’t count for anything. Not true, in a close election a handful of votes can be the difference. These are crucial times in this nation, the decisions made in the next few years will chart our future for decades to come. Are we going to strengthen our military or are we just going to allow it to atrophy and become an also ran in an out of control nuclear world? Are we going to do the sensible thing and issue school vouchers so that parents have some say so about how their children are educated, or are we going to bow to the influence of the teacher’s unions and continue down the path of passing students just to get them out of the way? Ask yourself this, if the public schools are so good, why do so many of the elected national officials send their offspring to private schools? Are we going to allow the Rosie O’donnell's of this world dictate our gun policy? Remember her? She's the lady who hires an armed body guard to protect her family while loudly proclaiming that the rest of us, who cannot afford body guards should not be able to have firearms to protect ourselves. Are we going to continue to allow the wanton murder of unborn children and the cruel slaughter of partial birth abortion, or are we going to appoint some judges who will bring some sanity to this and other issues. Are we going to clean up the streets of this nation or are we only going to pay lip service to some political version of toothless legislation which does nothing more that put a band aid on the situation. Are we going to continue to add to the burdensome size of a government which takes seventy cents out of every tax dollar just to maintain it’s bureaucracy? Are we going to continue to expand social programs which have dismally failed three generations? Are we going to continue to penalize people with paying more tax just because they’re married? Who are the men and women best suited to take us into this new millennium? Who will best chart the course of America in the next few crucial years to come? Anyone who reads this column probably knows my political leanings, but that is not what we’re talking about today. I am only going to urge you to vote your conscience. Vote for Bush, vote for Gore, vote for Nader, vote for a write in candidate, but for goodness sakes vote. Let your voice be heard and America will be the stronger for it. What do you think? God
Bless America
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