Civics Lesson
Well, at last. It's midterm election day, and time for all those campaign ads to go away. Time for citizens to get out there and vote. Time for politicians to start raising money for the next - oh, no, wait. Time for politicians to start doing the job they've been elected to do.
Remember the 1968 Democratic convention? I was horrified by the muscle tactics in Chicago; I was appalled by the "business as usual" approach to machine politics. I was 16 years old.
Remember the Twenty-Sixth Amendment? Passed March 23, 1971, it gave the right to vote to 18 year olds. In fall of 1972, I got my first chance to vote. I was a sophomore in college and lined up with crowds of other, eager first-time voters at the IU Auditorium to cast my first ballot.
To me, those are hallmarks of a democratic process that we should all cherish: The political process is imperfect but we have the chance to make changes. We must take our responsibility seriously. I've missed a few special elections and a couple of primaries in the past 34 years but I'd say I've gotten out to vote at least 85% of the time. I've volunteered for candidates, worked polling places, and tried to learn as much as I can about issues before I make my decision.
Never have I seen such undignified squabbling, such vindictive partisanship, such supercilious arrogance, such blind impotence on the part of our "elected leaders." How many of these people have a spine? How many have a conscience? How many have conviction (as opposed to "convictions", which is different)? What has happened to dialogue? What has happened to compromise? What has happened to honesty?
I've tried to do my duty over the years. Time for politicians to do theirs.
Remember the 1968 Democratic convention? I was horrified by the muscle tactics in Chicago; I was appalled by the "business as usual" approach to machine politics. I was 16 years old.
Remember the Twenty-Sixth Amendment? Passed March 23, 1971, it gave the right to vote to 18 year olds. In fall of 1972, I got my first chance to vote. I was a sophomore in college and lined up with crowds of other, eager first-time voters at the IU Auditorium to cast my first ballot.
To me, those are hallmarks of a democratic process that we should all cherish: The political process is imperfect but we have the chance to make changes. We must take our responsibility seriously. I've missed a few special elections and a couple of primaries in the past 34 years but I'd say I've gotten out to vote at least 85% of the time. I've volunteered for candidates, worked polling places, and tried to learn as much as I can about issues before I make my decision.
Never have I seen such undignified squabbling, such vindictive partisanship, such supercilious arrogance, such blind impotence on the part of our "elected leaders." How many of these people have a spine? How many have a conscience? How many have conviction (as opposed to "convictions", which is different)? What has happened to dialogue? What has happened to compromise? What has happened to honesty?
I've tried to do my duty over the years. Time for politicians to do theirs.
posted by rcclive at
7:02 AM
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