We are just a few days away from an election. Our situation in America is a downer right now. We’re in a tough spot in Iraq. Our deficit is astronomical. Over the last two years many members of Congress, of both parties, were exposed in very, very serious scandals, frauds and even crimes. Some now reside in prison, and more will likely follow. It’s certainly not the kind of America that you or I idealize as we listen to the national anthem before a ballgame, watch fireworks on the fourth of July, or reflect upon the inspired principles found in Our Declaration of Independence.
In times like these, it’s tempting to look at the muck, the mire and the corruption that is dripping from our national government and say, “Forget about it. Screw the politicians, they are all corrupt and I want nothing to do with them.” Perhaps John Kenneth Galbraith best captures current the mood of Americans for our national government in the statement, “Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable”
Many of us now look at what we perceive as the disastrous and unpalatable and prefer neither. And while such frustrations on the part of citizens is more than justified, this election cycle, perhaps more than most, America needs your participation. It doesn’t matter if you are a member of the Republican or Democrat parties. It doesn’t matter if you are philosophically a liberal, conservative, libertarian, socialist or populist. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, young or old, a PhD or a high school drop out. Our democracy is strengthened by your participation. America needs you.
Participation includes casting an informed ballot on Election Day, but it is so much more. It can also mean participating in dialogue by calling talk radio or writing a letter to the editor. For those who feel less inclined to such a large audience, it can mean discussing the issues our nation, state and valley face at the dinner table with your spouse or family. Participation can mean helping a candidate whose platform you believe in. Perhaps by distributing materials, maybe by licking envelopes.
When broadbased participation occurs in our democracy, it is strengthened. As divergent ideas collide and clash in the public forum, more often than not good or at least acceptable and feasible solutions emerge. When policy is created by one or a few special interests, the interests and rights of the many are neglected or outright abused and revoked. You might not wish to participate in this election cycle because our national government disgusts you. But whether or not you participate, someone will participate and the decisions will be made with or without you. Our choice is not whether or not to participate. It is whether or not we will defer our right to participation and input to others, whose interests by themselves might not be for the betterment of ourselves or our great nation.
If the current state of our government depresses or frustrates you, it’s probably because it’s current values run perpindicular to your conscience and how you live your life. If you find your values crossways with the national government, America needs your participation this election cycle.
But this election cycle is about more than just our national government and it’s sad state of affairs. We have state and local races, the outcomes of which, quite frankly, will have a more direct impact on our day to day lives than anything concocted by those in Washington, DC.
Ryan and I have interviewed every active candidate on KVNU’s For the People of the two major parties that will appear on your ballot on election day. And putting aside political philosophy as a consideration, each one of them is capable of holding the office they seek. These are the men and women who throw themselves into the political ring out of that idealism that seems lost in Washington, DC. Maybe Washington, DC only attracts the morally rudderless. Or perhaps the centralized power in Washington, DC suffocates the idealism and kills the conscience of what were once principled men and women.
Fortunately, most of the power to govern our day to day lives resides right here in Cache County or at least in Salt Lake. Of course there is an occasional bad apple in local and state governments, but they are much more the exception than at the national level.
Our local candidates have poured their heart and soul into their campaigns. Like you and I, they have families, jobs and other commitments that keep them busy. These candidates are motivated by service and selflessness. They have been willing to depart with time, resources, lost personal and professional opportunities to strengthen our democracy. America needs men and women like those that will appear on the ballot in Cache County next Tuesday. Tuesday night, by about 10 o’clock we’ll all know who won and who lost and by how much. But the reality is that win or lose, each of these candidates has strengthened our Democracy by participation and advocacy of their platform. Let’s all magnify the meaning of their campaign efforts by not only voting, but fully participating in this election cycle.
So we have a ballot full of capable, willing and upstanding men and women. Now, you and I just have to decide whose policies and ideas we agree with most. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Personally, I remain undecided in how to vote on election day in most of the races on my ballot.
In reality, I’m preaching to the choir here. Numerous studies and survey’s show that those who listen to news/talk on the radio, like KVNU’s For the People, are more educated, better informed and more likely to be involved politically. Chances are, you are already active politically. Chances are you’ll vote.
But you and I know people who won’t. We know people who look at politics like they look at a dentist appointment to get five fillings. We need to encourage them to get informed and involved this election cycle, especially at the local level where the issues will effect us. Let’s all make it a point to invite and encourage those we know to participate. Let’s make these invitation regardless of whether or not they agree with us. Just as America needs you and I in this dark hour, America needs our friends and family.
This is our democracy. It’s our government. It’s our freedom and it’s our future.
