November 4th, 2008. Mark your calendars…
by Matt Critton
…because I, as well as everyone else in this world who gives a damn, will be waking up with the hope that old St. Nick left the shiniest new bicycle under the Christmas tree.
But, don’t lost any sleep, and forget the euphoric dreams of sugar plumb ferries, because we will all be waking up to stockings filled with coal.
With presidential elections in America just over a year away the light at the end of the tunnel is beginning to shine…
Wrong.
Well, maybe the flicker of a candle is casting bleak shadows, but the floodlights are a long way from being plugged in.
President Bush has been in office for almost 8 years. And according to pretty much every American he is to blame for why little Suzy can’t read, why Billy doesn’t have enough to eat, and why Mr. and Mrs. Smith will never see their little baby again.
(My acquiescence with this statement is a topic for another time).
But, I do not foresee the election of a new president to reverse the rotation of the earth filling all of the dark allies with daisies and rainbows. There will always be poverty, struggle, and war.
The upcoming election, however, will bring hope.
That is if America actually shows up to vote.
In 2004, an election with dire consequences, produced only about a 60 per cent turnout. After all of the complaining, ridicule, and bashing of our president just over half of the population showed up to vote.
Where were those who so openly condemned the administration? It isn’t possible that they didn’t show up to vote, is it? Surely they didn’t have better things to do, did they?
Why, yes, a lot of them must have.
I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many people I know who simply didn’t show up to vote. Each construing their own ridiculous excuses. With the most common being that “my single vote won’t make a difference.” Nothing gets under my skin more.
It is our civic duty as Americans to vote. Hell, it is what we pride our selves in: the ability to put those into power who we deem fit, and the ability to remove those who piss us off.
So, if you are one of those big talkers who never showed up for the fight, keep your mouth shut, for you are just as bad, if not worse than the man in charge.