Won’t Ever Have to Vote Again?

What in the name of freedom does that even mean?

And why would any political candidate ever say anything like that? Because it makes absolutely no sense at all.

“You have to get out and vote. you won’t have to do it anymore. Four years it will be fixed, it will be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore. In four years, you won’t have to vote again…..”

Talk about a foolish statement…. 

Our founding fathers fought hard to give us the right to vote for our leaders. They put a series of checks and balances in place to assure that future Americans would have the right. Yes, we had to make changes along the way to ensure everyone eventually got that same right, but at no time was that right ever talked about being done away with.

It’s too important. It’s one of the most vital rights afforded us in a free nation; the right to have a say in the leaders we select for the country. It is a right that many other countries do not have. It is a right to cherish.

And it is a responsibility that we should never take lightly. Or take for granted.

I remember how excited I was to turn 21 and finally be able to vote. I proudly registered and voted in my first presidential election for Richard Nixon. 

I have not missed voting in a presidential election since that time, and will surely vote in this upcoming election as well.

So why would a presidential, or any other, candidate tell me I’ll not have to do it again because in four years he’ll fix it? And why would he address such a statement only to the Christians who follow him? Does that mean people of other faiths will still need to vote but Christians won’t? 

What’s wrong with our system that someone running for the highest office in the land would make such a statement? To one select group of people? Obviously he doesn’t respect our system of government that is in place. Obviously to him it’s not working right, maybe because he lost the last election? 

And don’t tell me the last election was rigged because we all know that just isn’t true. Think of the thousands and thousands of things that would have to happen to cause election fraud on such a massive scale. The thousands and thousands of dishonest people that would have to have been involved in order to pull off such a thing. And then keep silent about it.

It just didn’t happen.

Our last presidential election was fair and honest. One candidate won and the other lost. It’s how it works. That’s how the Constitution was written.

It doesn’t say if you don’t agree with the results you can claim it was rigged and start over. It provides for checks and balances and the means to dispute the results. And there were lawsuits upon lawsuits claiming election fraud. And none of them held up in court because there was no proof. 

And now saying you’ll only have to vote this one time and never again? What in the world is this empty, useless rhetoric that we’ll not have to ever vote again? Or that a select group of people will never have to vote again?

To me it says someone wants to take away our future right to vote. And that is not how this country was built. That is not how we operate. And it’s nonsensical, to say the least.

I proudly look forward to voting in this election as well as in many more. It’s important, and it’s my duty AND my privilege as an American citizen. 

Sorry, but I don’t want someone telling me I’ll never have to vote again as long as I vote this time. That to me is a clear violation of our Constitution, and a threat to every voter in this country who values our rights as American citizens.

So I say to you, vote in this election. One vote can make all the difference in the world when combined with thousands of other single votes. It all adds up. And together we can assure that our right to vote will continue for many more years to come.

Why Bother?

To vote, that is.

“My vote doesn’t count. One vote won’t make any difference.”

“I’m too busy. Besides, nobody cares what I think anyway.”

“I don’t like either candidate, so why should I vote for one of them?”

“I don’t know anything about anybody who’s running. So why should l?”

“Elections are rigged anyway. The outcome is predetermined because the Democrat party has already paid off the companies who count the votes.”

“All politicians are crooks. Who wants any of them?”

Why bother? It’s very simple. Because we all need to voice our opinion and have our say in who’s going to make the laws that impact our daily lives, and our children’s lives. If we don’t voice our opinion, then we don’t have any right to complain about the outcome, or to complain that you don’t like the way things are being done.

I’m not saying you can’t complain after the election if you don’t like who won, but if you didn’t have any input, then it’s not your place to complain because YOU didn’t even TRY to make a difference!

Your vote doesn’t count? I’m sorry but every vote counts. There are any number of local elections, albeit in small towns mostly, which have been decided by one vote. And if one person had voted differently than the outcome would have been totally different. Other elections in other precincts, and even states, have had similar situations in which the outcome was determined by a small handful of votes.

No one should ever claim to be too busy to vote. Most employers allow time off for voting. Or if they don’t, not everyone works a 12 hour day to keep them from the polling places. Saying you’re too busy to vote isn’t a good excuse. It just means you don’t care one way or the other. And that’s just wrong. Going to be out of town on Election Day? Surely you could take the time to get, fill out, and return an absentee ballot.

I don’t always like any of the candidates either. Which many times causes me to vote for the one I dislike least. But that’s not good either. We have the right to write in the name of a candidate. And many people do. They know there’s not much of a chance that person will win, but it does show that there are voters out there who want other choices. And don’t write in Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck! You may think it’s cute, but the poll workers have to count every vote and tally up even ones like that.

If you don’t know anything about any of the candidates who are running, where have you been? In this day of nonstop media ads, and the internet, you can find out what the candidates stand for. And don’t listen to all the attack ads, because that’s what they are. Attacks against someone they’re running against. Go to the candidates’ websites and read about what they stand for. If you can take time to be on social media for hours each day, you can surely take time to do a little research for yourself.

Elections are NOT rigged. Those untrue and unfounded conspiracy theories being spread by poor losers are just ridiculous and designed to make people question our system. Of all the lawsuits that have been filed, none have proven any election tampering or rigging. Our system may not be perfect, because none are, but there aren’t people out there driving aound trucks full of fake ballots and substituting them for the real ballots after the polls close! Computers in China and Korea aren’t changing the results.

All politicians are crooks? Well…I imagine some may be. But all? No. That’s a statement that has no merit. Just because you don’t like what someone stands for doesn’t mean they’re a crook. Just because one candidate has more money than you think they should doesn’t necessarily mean they earned it illegally. Yes, there are most likely politicians that aren’t totally aboveboard, and we’ve seen many of those brought down, forced to resign, and some eventually end up behind bars. But that doesn’t make ALL politicians crooks.

Just bear in mind that in our country we still have the right to vote without the fear of being hurt or killed. We have a choice of candidates, not just one name on the ballot because the regime in power controls everything and will do anything to retain that power.

So now what’s your excuse? Did I miss one?

I’m voting on Tuesday. Whether the candidates I select win or lose, I will honestly be able to say I voiced my opinion and had my say in the outcome.

Will you be able to say that?

[Note:  Our state of Virginia has an off year election on November 2. Which is the reason for this post at this time.]