2 of 29

Write now Article Tools

Democracies are, as Lincoln made perfectly clear, "governments of, for, and by by the people." Although there are variations on the theme - republican forms of democracy like the US, for instance, where voters are represented rather than directly involved in decision-making - democratic forms of governance require an attentive, informed and invested citizenry that reliably expresses its wishes through voting. The US was born because there were enough people who wanted a democracy and did what had to be done to assure that this new nation did not fall back into the tyrannical ways of the Old World.

Aristotle, whose Greece wrestled with one of the earliest known democracies, said, "If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost." In order to maintain our Freedom and all that that implies, we have to take responsibility for not only our own lives but for the lives of our fellow citizens. In the same way that a small farmer turns his own soil, as citizens we must cultivate and protect our liberties by participating fully in the political process.

Elections are the way that democracies register the collective will of the people. A simple majority of the people casting their votes gives power to to winning proposition, representative and/or party. One vote, your vote or mine, is the difference between a nation that protects corporations and their profits, first, leaving the rest to be cash cows and worker bees, and a nation that puts the health and safety of its rank and file citizens, first. One vote is all that it takes to throw out bad government and give ourselves a fresh start.

When voters realize their vested interest in electoral outcomes and responsibly inform themselves so that they can vote intelligently, the likelihood of choosing leaders and issues that are counter to the greater good of the nation and society is minimized. Hiding in the fog created by low election turnouts, elected officials can be more easily swayed by the already super rich at the expense of the middle and lower working classes; they can do favors for their elite favorites; and spend our unborn relatives deep into debt. Cash cows, indeed.

The outgoing administration, now in its waning days as tramplers of the US Constitution, the legal document that assures the rights of US citizens, is an example of what happens when people get lulled into thinking everything

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about The importance of voting?
We want to hear your view. Write now!