Your right to vote: use it or lose it!

I'm not in the habit of suggesting that anyone's vote must agree with my own, but I very recently found myself confronted by the opinion that says Americans have as much right to refuse to vote as to exercise that franchise. Ordinarily, I would remind others that in many countries where democracy is cherished, people withstand foul weather and other adversities to enjoy the privilege of voting whereas in our country the turnout is sometimes measured by the weather. As a first generation American by birth who learned lessons about tyranny from immigrant parents, I have always conceded, albeit not without some struggle, to those who insist that their vote doesn't count or make any difference.

To be sure, the inequity of the Electoral College certainly emphasizes that truth for anyone who doesn't reside in one of the seven states that (this year) will determine the outcome of the Presidential contest. Nevertheless, I find myself motivated by a morality that considers not only my family but also the families of my neighbors and fellow citizens to offer several compelling considerations that I hope will persuade you to vote with more urgency and completeness than ever before.

• First, it's never been easier. Early voting makes it possible to schedule the errand at your own convenience when weather and personal priorities won't interfere with the minimal time compared to the longer lines on Election Day. Voting by mail and the availability of drop-off boxes for your ballot are options that also make it possible to research the many down-ballot candidates, propositions, and even amendments to your state's Constitution that affect your life … wherever you live … more directly than those who serve in Washington. Too few voters know who represents them in Congress and their state government. Consequently, they too often vote, if they do at all, by choosing whoever is the incumbent, or whose gender, ethnicity, age or other characteristics don't necessarily reflect the self-interest of the voter. Numerous resources (local newspapers, candidate web sites, League of Women Voters, etc) exist to help voters make these decisions responsibly and in the comfort and convenience of home where the pressure of time, as might be the case in [polling places on Election Day, doesn't exist.
• The down-ballot affects you more directly. Low voter turnout, especially in primary elections, only perpetuates and exacerbates the feeling that votes don't matter. It explains why such a large percentage of incumbent members of Congress are easily re-elected in every cycle. In some districts, incumbents even run without challengers. Is it any wonder, therefore, that things seem to never change? Refusal to vote also makes it easier for demagogues to win elective office, thereby gaining the platform they require to advance dictatorial, oppressive laws and regulations under a cloak of legitimacy. Many such policies operate locally, such as "stop & frisk" law enforcement, traffic cameras, judgeships, taxes, schools … and more. Understandably, many who are eligible to vote can't decide which Presidential candidate deserves their vote, but that's not an excuse to forfeit everything else on the ballot.
• Campaign promises are just that. Political candidates often include initiatives that can only be fulfilled when both houses of Congress pass legislation that a chief executive can sign into law. The same is true at the State level, where governors can only propose change and progress. Only after they are elected can the real work of negotiation and persuasion begin so that consensus can be achieved across the spectrum of political differences. The idea that divided government is a healthy check against excessive power is sometimes a healthy way to insure that progress is not too sudden, but when voters (whose support for change is shown in polls to exceed 75% or more) are represented by legislators whose blind opposition to everything is a certainty, then it's reasonable to question whether or not the will of the voters is being expressed.
• History may not repeat itself but it does rhyme, as Mark Twain said. If we look back at the most recent 40 years, we can better evaluate tax policies based on "trickle-down" economic theories. If we have a concern about the rising national debt and budget deficits we are wise to speculate about the long-range health of our communities when tax revenues are insufficient to pay what we owe. If we think back 60 years to a time when we were challenged to patriotically "ask not what the country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" then the question "are you better off than you were 4 years ago" obviously resonates as an emotional appeal to selfishness and greed that strikes me as simply un-American. It's true that household budgeting is not the same as a government's budget, but on the other hand, it's tempting to imagine what else could be done with all the money spent on service of the national debt.
• Reproductive freedom is on the ballot even in states that currently protect the right to abortion access. To anyone who believes their vote doesn't matter or count, my first question this year is: What about the women in your life? Your wife, your sister(s), your daughter(s) and granddaughter(s)? Measures to protect access have already qualified to go before voters this year in ten states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York and South Dakota. The decision by an extremist Texas judge to substitute his own opinion for the medical science-based decision made by FDA experts regarding mifepristone will soon return to his courtroom when the question about standing is resolved. How the US Supreme Court will rule on other personal and family-planning issues such as interracial marriage, contraception, IVF treatment and same-sex marriages is unpredictable. Most of all, my message to voters is that this is not an issue limited to women, no matter how strong is their insistence on having the right to control their own bodies. I strongly insist that any question about family planning involves fathers who not only participate in the conception of children but also in raising them to be healthy, responsible students in their adolescence and responsible citizens when they grow up to become adults and voters themselves.
• Democracy matters. Unless you've had the privilege of foreign travel, you may not fully appreciate what it means to live in not just any democracy but this democracy. Yes, it has its faults and the Electoral College is surely at the top of that list, but life under an autocratic regime is more than an abstract concept this season. So many things that we always assumed could never happen have already happened, that nothing can be taken for granted when one of the two candidates for President has already promised actions to be taken and policies to be implemented that are only possible if our democracy yields to dictatorship. "Only on Day 1", they say, is just an exaggeration or a joke, however it's wise to remember that it only takes one day to suspend a Constitution, arrest journalists, dissolve a Parliament, cancel broadcast licenses for non-state media, burn down a Reichstag, and issue an order that amounts to "ethnic cleansing" by putting a target on the backs of American citizens.

Speaking for myself, I don't want to wake up every day to the re-run of life dominated by uncertainty about what will be the next daily episode of a reality show whose only focus is on being in the center spotlight to manifest ratings while wielding power Please take me seriously and vote like your life depends on it … because it does.