Soapbox

Election day has come and gone in the US, and the results are still unclear. Beyond the melodrama of who won what state according to whose count, there is another issue we've heard little about; voter turnout, or the lack thereof.

According to Reuters, only 50.7% of registered voters participated in this election. In 1996, roughly 49 percent of those eligible participated, according to CNN. Okay, so there was a very small increase, but still the numbers show that almost half the population said nothing about how the government should be run.

For a country that prides itself on espousing the virtues of democracy to the rest of the world, it seems hypocritical that the bulk our own citizens choose not to become involved in the process. What's up with that?

Apparently, lack of participation has been a strong trend since the 1960 election of John F. Kennedy. So what has been happening since that time? Hmmm, we saw a president assassinated in Dallas, his brother followed a few years later in California, Nixon had his Watergate scandal, President Ford pardoned Nixon, President Carter took the heat for the oil crisis, the Iran-Contra scandal brewed under Reagan/Bush years, Clinton brought us Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky. All of this has the makings of one heck of a soap opera, and this is just the stuff we know about! It seems like each administration created it's own crisis, or the media found one from the past. Is it a wonder that politicians, as a group, and politics, as a practice, is viewed as less than honorable? As local and national politicians, supposedly in the service of the public, become embroiled in a scandal of some sort on a regular basis, Americans have become rather jaded.

It is hard to feel like your vote counts for anything when you know the guy in charge will inevitably lie, cheat or steal. They say what you want to hear to get into office, and do what the highest bidder wants once they get there. Why bother?

The next president will appoint new justices to the Supreme Court. Regardless of your stand on the abortion issue, that matters. The next president will decide America's role around the world. Whether you feel we should be the world's policeman or if we should take care of our own house first, that matters. The next president will be faced with bailing out Social Security. Whether 35 or 65, eventually, that will matter to you. The next president will take over responsibility for America's environment. If you breath, eat, or drink, that matters. There is a whole lot of 'stuff' going on in the world that in one way or another, will affect us all.
Granted, politicians we see nowadays are not of the same caliber we were led to believe made a President. Considering that one's life goes under an electron microscope the moment candidacy is announced, I doubt any person could emerge unscathed. It could even be argued that only a certain type of person could steel themselves enough to survive running for office, let alone performing the job. It may not be a person of impeccable morals, but they can stomach the relentless scrutiny.

The bottom line in all of this is, if you don't speak up, there is no way anything will get better, either in the caliber of candidates running for the presidency, or in the job they do in office.
all the best,

Catie
Copyright 2000 WomanLinks.com

About the Author : Catie Hayes is founder/editor of WomanLinks.com; a community of support, spirituality, growth and empowerment for women. She is a freelance writer, the single homeschooling mom of two, and an avid fan of laughter, spontaneous dancing, cats and chocolate (not necessarily in that order).