Maybe I'm Wrong

I have always thought that it was every Americans DUTY to vote, as many who know me can attest. I have been very vocal concerning this attitude and have often chastised those I know who did not or do not vote. In my opinion, if you cannot take the time to prepare and vote, you have given up the right to complain or question anything done by your government. An excellent example would be the war in IRAQ. How many of the current anti-war protesters actually voted? If it is anything like the Viet Nam era protesters, the answer would be approximately 30%.

As we dissect the results of the current election, one hears about the large number of voters who turned out, many of them for the first time. There was one news story about a 100 year old woman who was voting for the first time in her life! Although the increase in voter turnout seems laudable at first glance, once a complete analysis is performed, I ,for one, am not so sure. For example, the City of Suffolk held its first mayoral election on Tuesday. Previously, the mayor was selected by the City Council. This was the FIRST time that the residents of that city had an opportunity to have a say in who governed them as the mayor. An historic election in its own right. Here are some excerpts for the coverage:

One candidate was Mike Debranski. One voter when asked why she voted for him is quoted as saying: "The honest truth?" she said cringing. "Because he had a weird last name."

The article also stated "....more than a few acknowledged they knew little, if anything, about the local candidates."

Another voter is quoted as saying: "I didn't know who was who." The article goes on to say "She said she voted for Linda Johnson because she was the only woman on the ballot."

Yet another voter had a very good reason for voting her choice. "I just put Johnson, because my last name is Johnson,".

The final example is a voter that said she didn't know any of the mayoral candidates is quoted as saying "My grandpa told me to write in me."

Nearly 5,000 of the 41,800 who voted (slightly over 10%) did not even bother to cast a vote in their local mayoral race. OVER TEN PERCENT! And that does not count the voters like those quoted above. How many more made their selections in a like manner? Some people had to stop and think to even recall who they had voted for just minutes before. Why, then did these people vote. I could venture a guess. Are these the new voters that turned out in support of Barrack Obama? Are these the New Democrats? If so, are these the type of voters that will make intelligent, informed choices in the future? That is, assuming they will continue to vote on a regular basis, which I seriously doubt!

Therein lies the reason for my self doubt. Am I wrong to expect every American Citizen to be involved in the decision making process? Obviously there are many people whose only qualification is citizenship and age, the minimum requirement. It's unconstitutional to require any more, like commitment and intelligence. But, what about the responsibility to make informed choices? Do I expect too much? Is there really that much apathy in the American Electorate?

Like I said before, take any good looking, well dressed, eloquent piece of meat, give him half a billion dollars, and he, too, could become President. Maybe that is what we deserve. Maybe issues are as dead as many of our preceeding Presidents. Now it's all hype and showmanship!