patriot |ˈpātrēət|
noun
1. a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.
As a member of one of the United States' major political parties, I spend most of every election season on the phone or out doorbelling the neighbors. I don't do it because it's fun or because it changes peoples minds. Surprisingly, few people have their minds altered by what I say. What I'm really hoping for is to move people to fill out and return their ballots. A small thing to ask, but an important show of Patriotism.
In my state this small act of patriotism seems to have lost importance to many of my friends and neighbors. Of the 150,069 voters in my home county, only 50,980 case ballots in the last election. Maybe the 66.9% who didn't vote aren't Patriots? Hard to believe when so many are so vocal about how patriotic they are. Perhaps some don't think their vote counts or that the people they elect can't make a difference. I would ask those who think that way "do they have an alternative to voting that advances our democratic principles?"- I didn't think so.
We can all agree that our country was founded on the principles of representative democracy. Since that's true isn't the Patriots duty to uphold those principles by electing the best representatives they can in each election? I know I'm sounding preachy, but what else can I do to help you get your vote in?
Lastly, let's think about what happens when we ignore our own democracy, the 33% who vote have power over the 66% who don't. Our founding fathers knew what would happen if we fail to exercise our voting rights and it isn't pretty:
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
Thomas Jefferson
So as Mayor Daily used to say Get out there and "vote early and often".
