Freedom of Choice or from Choice?

In a sense, summer ends tonight, (even) before Labor Day as Tom Foley and Dannel Malloy meet in a debate hosted by The Bulletin's Ray Hackett in Norwich Free Academy's Slater Museum at seven. Every seat in the building was spoken for before last weekend began so for those, to include me, concerned about an engaged electorate that's good news.

Of course, I can't lose sight of the fact that it's a long way to November and I'm more concerned that we finish strong in terms of energy, engagement and involvement. In recent elections, regardless of the offices being contested, voter turnout has been polite, and I'm being (very) kind with that descriptive.

When you consider the number of threats our democracy has faced and faces at any given time throughout our history and how often we have asked family and friends to defend with their lives our liberties, to include the right to vote, you, too, must concede the level of voter turnout is and remains disappointing.

We’ve all read news accounts of villagers across Afghanistan braving death to cast a ballot because as impoverished as they are in every sense of the word, they know how important the right to choose is.

Meanwhile and I have no data to prove this, but you have none to disprove it, more of us know the names of every member of the Kardashian Family than of the six members who make up our Connecticut Congressional delegation.

Actually I'm being sneaky when I say six, because the census of 2010 confirmed a reduction in our state's population and we lost a Congressional representation as a result and only have five. And yet we're more knowledgeable about the members of the bread and circuses brigade because more of us watch E! than CT-N or CSPAN.

There will in all likelihood be more than two candidates seeking the office of Governor and we should maintain open minds on those who seek our support, as we weigh their positions on where we are and where we should be gong and their respective plans for getting us there.

I'm told those of us with tickets for tonight's debate should plan on arriving early in order to have better seat selection and I'd like to go that one better. Whatever time you were planning on heading over, make it fifteen minutes earlier, thirty if you didn't vote in our mayoral election last year and an hour if you skipped the previous presidential ballot.

Use that time to stop by the monuments at Chelsea Parade to the Norwich natives who've died in our wars from the founding of the Republic to the Global War on Terror and  explain to those memorialized on those stones how and why it is you can't seem to find fifteen minutes on Election Day to cast a ballot.

Sometimes I get confused and downhearted because I'm unsure as to whether we want freedom of choice or freedom from choice. See you tonight at Slater.

-bill kenny