Cyndi's Two Cents

Please vote on November 8th

Commentary.

During the past few months, I have been bombarded with radio and television campaign ads, editorials in print and online publications, an avalanche of political satire and quite often mean-spirited debate on social media sites. We unplugged our “land line” at home because 99.9% of the calls were of political orientation. Almost every political message supports candidates for various elected offices of leadership by attacking his or her opponent.

During this midterm election year, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate will be contested. It is indeed an important election for the citizenry of this great nation.

Despite the mudslinging and accusations running rampant, I have been able to find the information I need to make my decision for which candidates I will cast my vote on November 8^th. I have listened carefully to interviews and read a great deal about voting records and platforms. 

As offensive and often unpleasant as some of these campaigns can be, I thank God and our founding fathers for freedom of speech and so many constitutional rights that are mine because I am a citizen of this great country. I believe in the democratic process and believe that voting is an opportunity for me to participate in that process and to exercise my constitutional right to freedom of speech.

If I am completely honest with you, I am not as excited about this election as I have been in previous years. I am sad and a bit unnerved by the division in this country. There are far fewer on the far left and the far right than there are “in the middle” but that middle majority has been surprisingly quiet. I believe the future hangs precariously in the hands of those of us who show up to cast our ballot.

You would think that any person asking for your vote would try to gain favor by showing off their best attributes. The last thing we would expect to see or hear from a true leader is a bitter diatribe targeting his or her opponent. We often feel that those who want our vote are not listening to us, usually because they are too busy slinging mud at their opponent to hear us.

And yet, if we do not exercise our constitutional right, our voices will not be heard by those who make the laws and govern the land. If we do not show up to vote, we are saying that we just do not care. Our inaction tells the leaders and would-be leaders that the keys to the kingdom are theirs, not the peoples, and that we will just sit back and take what we get.

It is a privilege for me to cast my ballot. I cannot wait for November 8!