Why I'm gonna vote this year . . .
1964 was the first election in which I was eligible to vote. What a choice? Barry "YAF" Goldwater, and Lyndon "I"m not going to send American boys to fight an Asian war" Johnson. You know, I don't even remember whether I did make the choice to vote. But I do know for many years thereafter I did not vote in national election out of disgust for the farce we call the American politcal process.
At some point I started voting again, probably recognizing some sort of responsibility as a maturing individual. And, rightly I think, taking to heart some the notion that if you don't vote you really don't a have a right to complain. Tired and stretched as that notion is, it does have a certain simple appeal to common sense.
And so for years I found myself voting probably for the underdog, or the putative contrarian, something as an extension of my former disgust at the system And, so of course, in many of those elections, whether for a vote for POTUS or local county supervisor, my voter really didn't matter because either the results were not going to be that close or we were really faced with tweedle dum and tweedle dee. (old populist/segregatinist George Wallace had something with his "there's not a dimes worth of difference between the Rep and Dems").
Then we came through the 80's and the 90's and my "hold your nose" attitude toward voting continued to prevail. All right, all right, call me a snob, I can take it. I certainly held my nose for Gore in some ways, though my fear and loathing of Bush was cerainly in full flower, even then.
And, to be clear, I do believe the two parties, and the party mechanisms, beholden to special and monied interests, truly suck.
But, this year, its a little different. I feel like many folks are disgusted as I have been in the past, and are ready to sit on their hands, or vote for Bush because of dislike for Kerry, at least the media image. Well, they're not reading the same media I am; and they're not feeling the same fear of complacence or voter ennui that I am.
With half a century of voting and non-voting behavior behind me, but always being an interested, quite often pained and disgusted observer of the political landscape, I feel differently this year. Not just my head, but my gut tells me its important to vote. I hope I am part of critical mass feeling the same way. And, maybe it comes with age, but should I be so different afterall?
At some point I started voting again, probably recognizing some sort of responsibility as a maturing individual. And, rightly I think, taking to heart some the notion that if you don't vote you really don't a have a right to complain. Tired and stretched as that notion is, it does have a certain simple appeal to common sense.
And so for years I found myself voting probably for the underdog, or the putative contrarian, something as an extension of my former disgust at the system And, so of course, in many of those elections, whether for a vote for POTUS or local county supervisor, my voter really didn't matter because either the results were not going to be that close or we were really faced with tweedle dum and tweedle dee. (old populist/segregatinist George Wallace had something with his "there's not a dimes worth of difference between the Rep and Dems").
Then we came through the 80's and the 90's and my "hold your nose" attitude toward voting continued to prevail. All right, all right, call me a snob, I can take it. I certainly held my nose for Gore in some ways, though my fear and loathing of Bush was cerainly in full flower, even then.
And, to be clear, I do believe the two parties, and the party mechanisms, beholden to special and monied interests, truly suck.
But, this year, its a little different. I feel like many folks are disgusted as I have been in the past, and are ready to sit on their hands, or vote for Bush because of dislike for Kerry, at least the media image. Well, they're not reading the same media I am; and they're not feeling the same fear of complacence or voter ennui that I am.
With half a century of voting and non-voting behavior behind me, but always being an interested, quite often pained and disgusted observer of the political landscape, I feel differently this year. Not just my head, but my gut tells me its important to vote. I hope I am part of critical mass feeling the same way. And, maybe it comes with age, but should I be so different afterall?
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