(S)He who Hesitates...

The 2012 Election is coming up fast! Just over a month until Election day - Tuesday, November 6 - and we will be choosing yet again who will be the man representing us as a country, officials on the state and local level, as well as other referendums, depending on where you live. There is always a lot going on on election day.

Often no one exactly fits the bill of what we are looking for, and we feel as if we are choosing the lesser  of two poor choices, or we may decide it's not worth voting at all, but in reality that is never the case. Your vote counts and it DOES make a difference, in all elections and particularly in the state and local ones.

"We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate." -Thomas Jefferson, third US president (1743-1826)

It is important to register early, especially this year when your state may have new rules or restrictions that you need to know about. While the goal of a democracy is an equal vote for every citizen, it isn't always simple to get that chance to vote. You have to get registered, and you have to exercise the right once you are.

de·moc·ra·cy 

noun 

plural de·moc·ra·cies

1

a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority

b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections

2

: a political unit that has a democratic government

3

: the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority

4

: the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

Here is a link to all the information you need to vote in the next election, no matter where you live: Register to Vote

People who do not live where this is an option wish it was. What makes it work is our participation. Remember, if you do not choose, the choice will be made for you. Vote!

The Countdown...

The last days before the election are ticking away. Are you registered? Have you read the voter pamphlets, figured out enough about the candidates and issues to make some kind of decision? Do you know where your polling place is?
If you haven't done those things yet, this weekend is the time to get it done. here are some resources that can help:
Find your polling place at: Vote 411
The League of Women Voters has information on the Presidential candidates as well as all state contests and measures for California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania. Local elections are covered in the most populous counties in California and in Hamilton County, Ohio, the St. Louis, Missouri area (several counties), and Westchester County, New York.
Check your local TV Station, news and State government websites for local issues and candidates.
I never get tired of saying VOTE!!! Vote as if your future depended on it.

Lastly, on another topic, remember at 2 a.m. on November 2, 2008, Daylight Savings Time ends. Turn your clocks back one hour (Fall back... Spring forward, as the saying goes) when you go to bed and enjoy that extra hour of sleep!

Vote! Vote! Vote!

Here in the United States, Election Day, November 4, is coming up soon. Very soon. Less than a month and a half... Everyone, possibly the entire world, knows this. However, for those who are not registered to vote, the action of getting registered can fall to the bottom of the "when I can get around to it" list.
If you are an U.S. citizen, the most important thing you can do is participate in the process that governs our country and vote. Here is a way to make it easy: just use this link to REGISTER TO VOTE !
Here, in California where I live, you can register until October 20. To find out the voter registration deadline in your state you can check here at Rock the Vote.

We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate. -Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and author (1743-1826)

I know I am repeating myself here, but it endlessly amazes me how many people do not take the time or have the interest or??? to get it together to participate in the only tool they really have to back up their interests in how their country, state, or city conducts business. It is not just about the presidential choice, although that is very, very, VERY important in my opinion, but this is your voice in the highways that get built, the money that goes to schools, what extra taxes are levied... the list goes on and on. In our family, we have the rule: "if you don't vote you cannot complain about the government and it's actions". If it is inconvenient for you to go to your local polling place, you can always vote by absentee ballot. We do. Our polling place is 1/2 hour away. On a work day it is not only inconvenient, but if we are very busy we may just forget until it is too late!

What does it say if you go out on the street and protest about things you don't like but are not willing to step up to the plate and cast a vote that would help nudge the direction of government and it's actions in the direction you believe is best? Voting, like so many things, may seem ineffective at the personal level - "it is only 1 vote, it won't make any difference" - but like drops of water in a bucket, each vote adds to the whole and creates change. Remember, non action is a vote as well, it is just as if you voted against yourself either by not neutralizing a vote against your beliefs or by not adding emphasis to the things you support.

So, and I cannot stress this enough, it is the ability to participate in government, to make our voices heard, that makes a great country. Be part of that. Get registered and VOTE in every election.

Late breaking news:
There is a new book out for first-time voters. The Rookie Voter Handbook by JamesTurner was inspired by his own coming-of-voting-age-son, and covers the essentials of voting and more, with topics such as: voter registration, absentee ballots/votes, lobbyists, national & local issues, pros & cons of hot current issues, earmarks, special interest groups, party-line voting, two-party system, the role of MONEY, voting for the person , attack ads, truth in advertising, single issue voting, going negative, Liberals, Conservatives, Moderates, & Independents, secrets and tricks used to persuade and manipulate voters, and much more...
Might not be bad information for some of us more seasoned voters as well!

Belonging...

We are affiliated with a number of groups. It is human nature, I think, to belong to various groups, beginning with family and moving out. Belonging strengthens you and the other members of the group, as you enhance and enlarge the possibilities when you work together. It can be a support system for the benefit of all. Yet I don't feel it has to define who one is or make you beholden to mimic any group's belief's identically.

Take our immediate family. I love my family and feel very much a part of the group - yet we are all very different individuals, with different tastes, tempos, and basic beliefs in some cases. There is freedom to be oneself in this group without it jeopardizing one's membership even if it isn't always all smooth relationships. And we are there for each other in times of need.

Then there is the community. Our rural area is sparsely populated, but I suspect that makes the community stronger in some ways. Even if we do not know each other or participate in the same activities, I know the folks up here all feel they belong as a part of this region (or, perhaps, that it is part of who they are). We come together to support the events and organizations that define the locale, be it rodeo or festival, the school, or the rural clinic. We work together to help each other, improve things (school and clinic board, our volunteer fire dept. and emergency rescue team), and more. Within that are sub groups such as the back-to-the-land folks, the ranchers, the loggers, the old timers (you get to be one of those when there is no one else alive who can remember a time before your family was here. 30+ years and 3 generations counts for nothing!). These groups are separate generally, yet overlap comfortably when community events occur. Despite our differences there is common ground.

Beyond that many belong to groups that go well beyond community. Some are temporal, such as environmental organizations, political parties, volunteer care groups, or book clubs. Others are spiritual. Sometimes these overlap. And of course there is the group of citizens of a particular country.

Being an American, the same as being a citizen of another country, is usually a group, like family, that you are born into. And, like family, it should give you the freedom to be who you are with your own individual beliefs, that family does. Of course, I am speaking of freedom, not license to behave in a manner which results in excessive or unacceptable behavior.
Being a member of any group should in no way diminish your individuality. It should be a way for you to share it and to enhance and strengthen your relationship with the world around you.

And I feel is important not to forget we all belong to a bigger group, the family of Mankind and the family of Earth. We are all linked together as the inhabitants of this lovely habitable planet. In the big picture, we all look out for each other through our daily actions. With that knowledge subliminally in your mind, I believe you can live a conscious life.

Now...
That said, for citizens of the United States the time is coming up to assert your beliefs in an important way. VOTE!

We in America do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.
-Thomas Jefferson, third US president, architect and author (1743-1826)

As an U.S. citizen, the most important thing you can do is participate in the process that governs our country. If you haven't already, please use this link to REGISTER TO VOTE
While it may feel as though we are mere voices in the wilderness, and that our lone vote may not have any effect, these votes add up. For each issue, for every candidate, you belong to a group of like minded voters and by adding your vote to that group you help create the change you want to see for the future.