Notes on Votes

I’m a traditionalist when it comes to exercising my right to vote; I always do, whether at a polling place on Election Day, an absentee ballot or just voting with my mind (very popular in some circles I’m told). Not so popular I suspect are observations I’ve offered previously as we prepare to cast ballots.  

There’s a good bet the only space on your front lawn NOT covered by autumn leaves will, or already does, have a sign urging others to vote for a specific candidate for everything ranging from Governor, through members of the Senate and House of Representatives to seats in both chambers of our legislature in Hartford. I like to think in my next life I’m going to be the person who makes the wireframe legs that the signs fit on. That looks like quite a growth industry even in tough financial times.

Living here in the heart of New England (suggested motto: “Where American History Comes From”), I wonder what Sam Huntington would make of all the signs (and especially the television advertising) -or Benedict Arnold for that matter. Both are Norwich Native Sons, though we're all more than a little ambivalent about Benny.

I believe, after a little bit of adjustment for the tenor and times in which we live, they’d be the first to point out that citizens offering to serve (which is what we’re voting for (and/or against) in November is as old as our nation and so long as we have neighbors willing to offer themselves for office, we’ll have a healthy democracy.

If you’ve read this far and are waiting for me to attempt some form of endorsement for any of the candidates on all sides of the aisle, you can skip the rest of this and check out Garfield in the comics section (wow! That cat sure likes lasagna, doesn’t he?).

My point: it’s none of my business for whom you vote nor is it any of yours as to how I cast my ballot. What is important and I cannot stress this enough, is that if you are eligible and registered to vote, then you owe it to yourself and to the rest of us to cast an informed ballot.

Our city, state, and nation are run (only) by those who show up and vote. No one and nothing else counts. We live in times of strident partisanship and finding a balance between sometimes dramatically differing perspectives on everything from vaccination to taxation can be an often-thankless task. We’ve reduced our election color wheel to red and blue for reasons that, when you consider it, have nothing to do with the way any of us think about ourselves and our lives.   

Look at everyone offering themselves as candidates and, if you must do some (more) research to learn enough about someone to make a decision about support, don’t be shy or lazy about doing so (that’s why God invented Google, right?) and keep asking questions of the candidates, and of yourself, until you are comfortable with the answers that will shape your decisions.

Elections are open book quizzes if you wish and despite campaign literature to the contrary there are no right or wrong answers. But remember, poor leaders are always elected by good citizens who chose not to vote.
-bill kenny