Headline: IF
YOU DON'T VOTE, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COMPLAIN
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman
Publication: ST.
LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Tue., Nov. 7, 2000
Section: METRO, Page: B1, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT
A civic duty
A
word to the wise: If you don't vote today because you don't see a difference
between the candidates, do me a favor and don't bother me with your opinions.
I'm not interested in them.
Sound
harsh? Not really.
Not a day goes by that I don't get letters, e-mail and phone calls
from people with views on issues as diverse as drug laws, abortion, affirmative
action, civil rights, HMOs, you name it. Some want the government to help in
some way; others want the government out of their lives. The opinions, often,
are strong ones. If opinions were money, I'd be a rich man.
But traditionally, it seems, when it comes to going to the ballot,
many people lose their motivation. Four years ago, less than half of the eligible
voting population bothered to show up at the polls. Perhaps we can assume that
everyone else was happy with the way things were.
Yet
even the contented have a motivation to vote. If you're pleased with the way
things are going, they could change tomorrow if you don't vote. If you gripe
after that point, you have only yourself to blame.
I can happily
say that I have voted in every presidential election since I was first eligible
to vote. While all of the candidates I voted for didn't win, I still had the
satisfaction of knowing that my voice was heard. I consider myself fortunate
to live in a country where I do get a say in where my government is going. Everyone
in the world isn't as lucky.
As
an African-American, I feel a special obligation to get to the polls. People
fought and many died because of their efforts to make sure that blacks had the
right to vote. And that was less than 40 years ago. In my view, their efforts
were in vain when blacks don't get out and vote. Every black voter who stays
home makes a mockery of all that those civil rights pioneers fought for.
When I hear people
say they're not voting for either Al Gore or George W. Bush -- or voting for
Mickey Mouse or someone who stands as much a chance as the Disney rodent of
being elected -- because they say there's no difference between the two chief
contenders for president, I find myself chuckling.
That's
like saying there's no difference between a Yugo and a Cadillac. Perhaps in
some years, the candidates have been similar, but unless you've been under a
rock, you know by now that the differences between Bush and Gore are significant.
And I mean what they stand for, not their personalities.
I
don't need to rehash here the differences between the candidates. Those have
been articulated in countless places, including this newspaper. Suffice to say
that the differences are great. If you haven't yet educated yourself on the
candidates -- not just for president but other offices and propositions as well
-- you really should do so before the polls close tonight.
Many of this year's
elections are close. Voting turnout will likely make the difference in more
than one race.
And the next time you think that one vote doesn't count, think
about former St. Louis County Executive Gene McNary. McNary sought the Republican
nomination for Congress from the 2nd District. Out of some 47,000 voters, he
lost the primary to state Rep. Todd Akin by 77 votes. If only 78 people who
stayed home or didn't bother to vote had gone to the polls that day, he would
have won.
I'm from St. Louis,
not Chicago, the hometown of my colleague, Bill McClellan.
Chicago is where the phrase "Vote early and often" originated.
But I hope folks get out and vote today. In fact, do it early and then call
a dozen friends and make sure they get out, too.
Our
votes really do count.
But if you don't vote, you can compare yourself to a poor, unemployed man who refuses to take a job, even when several are offered to him. When things go wrong, you'll really have no one to blame but yourself.
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