Vote! Make America work, get out and fulfill the responsibility that our forefathers fought and died for - "Government of the People," not government of a fractional group.
Our constitution states "We the People." The history of the United States of America has had a theme of extending voting rights and responsibility to an ever-increasing proportion of our citizen population. Today, after more than 200 years, the right and responsibility of voting has been extended to include all citizens, regardless of race, religion, sex, social position or education.
True American representative government can only be maintained when all qualified citizens vote in all elections. The views shared with me, while "door-to-door" campaigning and in many conversations since with many other potential voters, are devastating to the very values this nation was founded upon:
1. It doesn't matter who you vote for, they are all a bunch of crooks.
2. My wife/husband votes, so that's enough.
3. All of our problems are caused by this or that social or economic group.
4. My individual vote won't make a difference.
5. I don't vote ... neither party says or does what is best for this country.
6. The graft and dishonesty we see in Columbus or Washington is a fact of life and we have to accept it.
These views expressed and followed by too wide a gap of potential voters, locally and nationally, have led to a corruption of our voting system. Voting records show a frightening trend. Senior citizens are registered and vote at a higher level than any other group. The under-30 group has the lowest level of voter participation. Lower registration and turnout at the polls (30-50 percent) has lead us to a two-party system that gets their candidates elected by kowtowing to secular and fractional issues.
The "valid view" of our forefathers, "We the People," was and is the answer to fractional government. If we would all get out and vote, a new day would begin. Exercise your right and responsibility. Vote!
David Fitzpatrick,
Tiffin
