June 7, 2011

• Day 7: Politics

  Why I Vote

   

  “The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” ~Winston Churchill

   

  1. It makes my mother happy. She appreciates a listening ear to tell political woes. I don’t listen intently enough to make a difference—just enough for her to feel relieved. She knows this, so it is ok to write about. If voting makes her happy, then I will do it.

   

  “An election is coming.  Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry.”  ~George Eliot

   

  2. It makes me feel like I am a part of a whole. Being out of the country most of the year makes me feel even more distant from current affairs. It is nice to be involved in something bigger than yourself.

                                                                          

  “How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?” ~Author Unknown

   

  3. I get a sticker.

   

  “I’m tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn’t work.  Of course it doesn’t work.  We are supposed to work it.”  ~Alexander Woollcott

   

  4. I can’t complain if I don’t try to do something about it. So if I vote, I can mumble and grumble all I want.  But I am more patriotic when I am outside the country than when I am in it. I might not like what is going on, but that doesn’t mean some foreigner can talk bad about my country.

   

  “Hell, I never vote for anybody, I always vote against.”  ~W.C. Fields

   

  5. It makes me feel like a responsible adult. When it is me and the ballot, I don’t want to mark the “one ticket” box. I want to be individual. After going through and voting for everyone I know about, or against anyone I know I don’t like…I vote for the ones who have names I like. See mothers? It is important what you name your child. Then I turn in the ballot, like the responsible adult that I am.

   

  “Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good: ‘Tis but one step more to think one vote will do no harm.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

   

  6. I have friends in the military/government that work hard and I respect. I owe it to them. Or people who really support someone they believe in. The sweet old man standing outside the voting place in the cold won my vote for his candidate—that was dedication.

   

  “Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.”  ~Oscar Ameringer

   

  7. I want to be a part of the great heritage given to me, honoring the great men and women who have given their lives for the freedom to vote. History is inspiring, when you get the right textbooks. Even more so when you visit Virginia. I must say my interest in my national heritage grew after meeting the cute guy in knickers.

   

  “If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal.”  ~Emma Goldman

   

  8. It overcomes the guilt I feel in not being responsible and learning what is going on in my country. I am one of the few who hasn’t seen much of political anything. I don’t watch TV. I only look at the paper long enough to find the comics. I avoid political arguments by quickly admitting that I don’t know enough information to argue one way or the other. I only have one life, and have decided not to clutter it up with politics. So far, this has worked out pretty well for me.

   

  “We would all like to vote for the best man but he is never a candidate.”  ~Frank McKinney “Kin” Hubbard

   

  9. I get to see Mr. Smith. He is always at the voter place, and it makes me happy and rooted to see him every time. He is someone you can count on. I would vote for him for anything. Too bad he isn’t running. I almost wrote him in.

   

  “Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.”  ~Sydney J. Harris

   

  10. It is a privilege, not an obligation. In Brazil, voting is mandatory. That feels a little dirty to me, even if it does lead to huge community involvement.  For me, voting is about relationships and personal individuality. Don’t ask me who I voted for either…it is a secret.

   

   

  • 10:15 pm
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