Why Do I Vote? And, Why Should You?

Via ellen_datlow:

Blogging the Vote
Colleen Mondor of Chasing Ray is helping to organize a one Shot event on Monday, November 3rd where all participants blog about why they personally think voting matters this year. All the bogs will be linked. For more information, check out Colleen's post on Why you should vote

Why Do I Vote?

I vote, because it is through voting that I believe we maintain a strong democracy.

I vote, because the founding citizens of this country fought for that right, along with all the other freedoms they won for us, when they decided to form a new nation, saying:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed . . .

I vote, because my grandmother was a suffragette who fought for that right and I never want to lose it.

I vote because it is through voting that I participate in our government, thus fulfilling the promise inherent in Lincoln's words: "government of the people, by the people, for the people."

I vote, because I care deeply about what happens to my family, my friends, my neighbors, and all the people of this country.

Why Should You Vote?

Vote, because this country belongs to all of us.

Vote, because your ancestors fought for that right, just as mine did, regardless of how or when they came to this continent, or if they were here before Europeans arrived.

Vote, because it's in your best interests, and those of your family, friends, and neighbors, as well as in the best interests of everyone in this country.

Oh, and if you're an employer? Please, consider giving your employees time off to vote, because democracy requires that each of us have the opportunity to do so.



ETA: To see how others have responded, go to Blog the Vote 2008 on Chasing Ray.

I Thought You Meant It: Take Two

In the comments to my post, Politics and Values: I Thought You Meant It, handworn wrote the following:

Well, with some of those things it's completely possible and logically consistent to live a life that way and encourage it in others, but not to be in favor of it as a basis for government policy, or to be in favor of its institutionalization[. . . .], but that would be a legitimate viewpoint.

In this post, I'll look at each of the statements in the "I Thought You Meant It" essay and address whether I agree with using it as a basis for governmental policy, and why. First, I think that what we're discussing here is when and how should our values inform our conception of government. Before I discuss the individual points made, I'm going to say for the record that all of our views about what government should be are going to be based on our values. That's pretty clear, I think. But, each of us is going to have a large set of values, many of which we're not discussing here, which will also influence our ideas of government. For example, financial matters, states rights vs. central government, etc. all play a role in our perceptions of what government should do. The interaction between some of those issues and the social issues raised by the "I Thought You Meant It" essay are going to influence what you think about how these issues should be resolved.

So, on to the statements from the essay—

( I have friends of different races because when you taught me not to judge people based on how they look, I thought you meant it. )

( I respect other people's religious beliefs because when you taught me that a person's religion is between them and God, I thought you meant it. )

( I believe in universal health care and social assistance because when you taught me to be kind to those less fortunate than myself, and when you taught me that people are more important than money, I thought you meant it. )

( I support equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples because when you taught me that every person has the same human worth (and also to keep my nose out of other people's business), I thought you meant it. )

( I am environmentally conscious because when you taught me to take no more than I need, and to clean up after myself if I make a mess, I thought you meant it. )

( I support reproductive rights because when you taught me I shouldn't judge someone when I don't know what their circumstances are, I thought you meant it. )

( I am dismayed that you would call someone "elitist" merely because they are educated -- because when I became one of the first people in our family to earn a college degree, and you told me how proud I'd made you, I thought you meant it. )

( I am not ashamed if these things make me a liberal, because you taught me not to let other people belittle me about what I stand for, and I choose to believe you meant it. )