I couldn’t wait to vote! It was something to aspire to, like getting my driver’s license or going away to school. So the very first election after turning 21 I voted, by golly, and I haven’t missed a presidential election yet. I admit that I don’t always vote in local elections, and that’s because as adults, Jack and I moved so much I never got involved enough to find out who was running and what they stood for. But even when we were on the road trucking—through two presidential elections—we made sure to vote absentee.
So why do I feel so strongly about presidential, gubernatorial, state, and congressional elections? Those people make laws that affect all of us. When we were driving, they made laws that affected transportation, like making a national speed limit. When we were contracting, they determined tax law. Even now, they decide changes in withholding, social security and whether or not we have to wear masks when outdoors. If we don’t vote, we shouldn’t complain about the government’s doings.
Our forefathers have proven over and over how brilliant they were when
forming the U.S. government. The electoral college makes sure that states like where I live have a say in who becomes president, just like the big states. If not for it, the states with high populations would always determine our president. They decided on a representative form of government. And then they left it up to the people to elect their representatives. It’s our responsibility to do so or the system falls apart.
What do you think?
Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.
Burning Bridges by Anne Krist: old letters put the lie to Sara’s life. Now, mending her past mistakes while crossing burning bridges will be the hardest thing she’s ever done.
Voter numbers at the 1925 election rose to 91%. I bet there were sighs of relief within the hallowed halls of government.
No one who lives in the U.S. can be unaware of our current toxic political climate. It’s gotten to the point where people can be attacked for the hat they wear, or an argument can occur between strangers over a candidate’s plan for health care. Know what it is? It’s ridiculous, is what it is. When did we stop being a country where people could disagree without fear of fistfights? When did people stop mattering less than being “right?”
Mom and Dad usually voted for the candidate who supported the military more. My grandmother was a die-hard Democrat, a union steward in the plant where she worked, and had strong opinions she would voice anywhere about who should be running things. Contrary to most of my contemporaries who grew up during the Vietnam War, I leaned more toward my parents’ views than the revolutionaries’. Now, my mom leans more toward her mother—less conservative and more progressive. Do we battle it out during phone calls? Yes. Do we still love each other? YES! We’re family and we love each other despite any comments about the elections.