voting » Stop, Drop and Blog

I (We) Voted

Nov 022010

These were my little voting buddies this morning.

Voting buddies

A… gentleman?… told them they were too young to vote as we were walking in the door of our polling place. I wanted to tell him to shut his pie hole. Sure, yes, they’re too young to vote. But they can most certainly be involved in the process. They can get excited with me all morning — as they did. They can chant “Time to vote! Time to vote!” in the car on the way to the polling place — as they did. They can stand with me and watch me select which candidates I feel are most suited to the tasks at hand — as they did. And they can yell, “HOORAY FOR VOTING!” when we get back outside, wearing our stickers with pride — as they did.

My parents and I have differing political views. However, my parents appreciate that fact as they raised me to have a critical, questioning mind, an independent one that is capable of making decisions based on information. They used to take me to the polls with them. I remember standing in lines and little booths with curtains. I remember wondering what it was all about but feeling excited at the same time. I remember asking my parents questions about the process and learning about democracy as they explained things in a more personal way than school did.

I like passing that on to my kids.

So, Mr. Gentleman, they may not be old enough to cast votes just yet. But they are certainly old enough to get excited about democracy. They are certainly old enough to tell others to go vote. And they are most certainly welcome with me while I vote. Don’t you dare try to discourage our younger generations from embracing their right to vote.

Plus, we got to have pancakes at the fire department after we voted. Democracy is good.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FIRE LEVIES TODAY! GO VOTE!

We Don’t Just Vote Every Four Years

FireFamily Gets Political 10 Responses »

Nov 032009

Last year at this time, everyone was tired of the political commercials. People weren’t just mudslinging against one candidate in favor of their chosen candidate but against one another on blogs and places like twitter and Facebook. The Internet was volatile as we neared election day. Some people lived out such drama in their everyday lives as well, butting heads with coworkers and spouses. It made me laugh, however, when one twitterer that I followed said something along the lines of, “Gee, I’ll be glad when the election is over and we can all forget about politics!”

Say what?

Forget about politics? What strange universe does that particular person live in? More over, why would you want to live in such a place? We only have to worry about things of the political nature every four years? Really? Here I was, thinking that it is important to be involved! I’ll admit it, though… even with the Ohio elections taking place today, I’m tired of the political ads on my television. I’m glad election day has arrived and that people are out doing their civic duty. Or ignoring it. Or perhaps living under a rock. As I got out of the truck at our local precinct today, unbuckling carseats so that TheBrothers could tag along, I heard a woman comment to the janitor who was busy sweeping up the leaves that came down this weekend, “I didn’t even know today was an election day.”

How?

We don’t just vote once every four years. While a national election like the one that picks our President is very important, one could and probably should argue that state and local elections are of vital importance to the citizens of any given area. Those that are elected to city and state government go to bat for us or against us depending on their personal agendas. The proposed laws on local ballots affect us in many ways, good and bad. To not know about such a thing is to drop the ball so horribly and so uselessly that I cannot even begin to justify their lack of action or knowledge. It is not as if this election hasn’t been discussed, in great detail, in all local news outlets including television, radio and news print. I understand that perhaps people are cutting back. Maybe that individual cut her cable out and ceased her newspaper subscription. But, really, shouldn’t you almost expect an election to be held in May and November (at least in Ohio)? Shouldn’t the “Elect Joe Schmoe City Council President” and “Vote No on #58876″ signs in peoples’ yards be an indicator that something is going on? Really, under what rocks are people living?

I’m really touchy about this particular election as our local (city) government is trying to pass a Municipal Income Tax increase that directly affects my family. Without its passing, the fire and police departments will be forced to cut back in many ways. Layoffs are not an impossibility. That’s scary. To know that people didn’t even know that there was an election today is frustrating. FireDad went out with his fellow firefighters and walked door to door, hanging information about the issue on door knobs and talking with citizens. Don’t tell me it’s because your television is broken and you don’t get the newspaper. Wake up. Look around you. Ask questions. Be involved!

I share this rant with you because I want my readers, even those not in the state of Ohio, to do more than the lady in the parking lot. She obviously had done no research on any of the important issues on the ballot, local or state wide. She hadn’t paid attention to any of the local candidates vying for roles in our local government. She hadn’t done her research. Did she think the signs in everyone’s yards were a new kind of “For Sale” sign? Let’s get real. I don’t care how people vote as long as they do it with a bit of knowledge before heading into the precinct doors and pressing buttons all willy-nilly. Civic duty includes knowing what’s on the ballot. And when your election day happens to be.

While you’re at it, take your kids with you when you vote in any and every election. Voting for President is cool and fun and has lots of excitement attached to it. In fact, there are great books about the subject to teach kids about the matter. The truth is that our children need to know the importance of local and state government and how our votes in such elections make a difference. The change we all wanted to see last November has been, at best, slow moving. Teaching our children that change can and should start in our local communities is a great way to teach them about personal responsibility, the role of people in government and the process of democracy.

Plus, stickers are fun.

If you’re in Ohio, there’s still time to vote today. Most precincts close at 7:30 this evening (it varies; research!). If you live in another state, are you voting today? (Maine is. I can see that all over twitter.) Did you vote today? If you didn’t vote today, do you know when your next local and/or state election will be held? Learn the answers now so you don’t sound like the lady in the parking lot and get featured on some ranty lady’s blog.

See that sticker on my shirt? I can rant if I want to.