Mid-Term Civic Responsibility
November 7th 2006 04:14
This was supposed to be a post about the trendiness of being a responsible citizen...in fact, in writing that, I have decided that it will remain a post on that topic, my personal whinging will wait another day, because the hottest trend at the moment is political action.
The USA's mid-term elections are tomorrow (weird, cause its tuesday here, already...I digress). The elections are tomorrow and I am once again going to prove just how un-trendy I am by admitting to you that I have failed in my civic responsibility.
I am living abroad and have filled out 9 applications to receive and absentee ballot and they are all scattered across various surfaces of my life. Sadly, non of those surfaces include a post office or a mail box. They sit on desk-tops, and amid stacks of paper. All neatly filled out, some stamped and ready to be sent, and yet I failed myself, and my country, by distraction.
My voice will not count tomorrow. I will not be a part of the force that effects change (if in fact change is effected, at all).
Some people write their representatives letters, they sign petitions, they go to rallies, they participate in challenging their government. I am not usually one of those people (though there are certain areas of policy which do inflame my passion.) I am an irresponsbile citizen (and right now an irresponsible student too b/c i am NOT studying for my exam tomorrow.) There is no excuse for my distraction, no amount of work that should have kept me from the post office, no amount of social debauchery that should have delayed me so greatly in my mission to request permission to vote from overseas.
For those of you who have remained enfranchised, either by actively seeking the right to vote from abroad, or by the very means of your nationally based residency, I urge you to participate in the processes of your government. Part of me (a large part, in fact) wants to temper that advice with thoughts on the way in which you should channel your participation, but I have already made a mockery of our democratic system by opting out when I have a grievence I want heard. I refuse to cajole, argue, or tempt anyone to speak with a voice other than their own today. I don't believe American's are satisfied with the state of the world. Nor do I believe that Americans SHOULD be satisfied with the state of the nation. Afterall, we took a critical slide towards the dictatorial when we passed legislation negating the right to habeus corpus. I believe their is an opportunity for change tomorrow.
I have failed to be at the forefront of that change. I can never count myself among the courageous who were necessary instruments in effecting that change. But i can certainly praise the efforts of those who do.
The USA's mid-term elections are tomorrow (weird, cause its tuesday here, already...I digress). The elections are tomorrow and I am once again going to prove just how un-trendy I am by admitting to you that I have failed in my civic responsibility.
I am living abroad and have filled out 9 applications to receive and absentee ballot and they are all scattered across various surfaces of my life. Sadly, non of those surfaces include a post office or a mail box. They sit on desk-tops, and amid stacks of paper. All neatly filled out, some stamped and ready to be sent, and yet I failed myself, and my country, by distraction.
My voice will not count tomorrow. I will not be a part of the force that effects change (if in fact change is effected, at all).
Some people write their representatives letters, they sign petitions, they go to rallies, they participate in challenging their government. I am not usually one of those people (though there are certain areas of policy which do inflame my passion.) I am an irresponsbile citizen (and right now an irresponsible student too b/c i am NOT studying for my exam tomorrow.) There is no excuse for my distraction, no amount of work that should have kept me from the post office, no amount of social debauchery that should have delayed me so greatly in my mission to request permission to vote from overseas.
For those of you who have remained enfranchised, either by actively seeking the right to vote from abroad, or by the very means of your nationally based residency, I urge you to participate in the processes of your government. Part of me (a large part, in fact) wants to temper that advice with thoughts on the way in which you should channel your participation, but I have already made a mockery of our democratic system by opting out when I have a grievence I want heard. I refuse to cajole, argue, or tempt anyone to speak with a voice other than their own today. I don't believe American's are satisfied with the state of the world. Nor do I believe that Americans SHOULD be satisfied with the state of the nation. Afterall, we took a critical slide towards the dictatorial when we passed legislation negating the right to habeus corpus. I believe their is an opportunity for change tomorrow.
I have failed to be at the forefront of that change. I can never count myself among the courageous who were necessary instruments in effecting that change. But i can certainly praise the efforts of those who do.
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