Another Election Day and on my lunch I pull into the polls and get a front place parking spot, walk right in and within three minutes I have voted, no lines, no waiting. Some would say it’s my lucky day. I say it’s disappointing. When did everyone stop voting?
I remember as a child, going to the polls at Prospect School with my grandparents and waiting in line. It seemed like it took forever to get through to the other side. I had no idea really what we were doing, but I knew it was important. The first Election Day after I turned 18, my Papaw Young came to the house and asked if I had voted yet. I really had no idea it was Election Day- I was listening to Prince’s latest release and drawing on my black eyeliner with a Maybelline eyebrow pencil I had lite with a lighter so I could melt it onto my eyelids. I had not been watching the news. I paused for a moment and said, “No, I have not, I don’t even know who to vote for”. And he said, “Get in the truck and I will tell you on the way”.
It’s important to note, he didn’t ask me why I hadn’t voted. He also did not ask me if I wanted him to take me to vote. There was no question. I was voting and he was going to make sure I did. And he did that EVERY ELECTION DAY. Of course after the first incident, I knew what was coming, so I started getting informed- on the people that were running and what they stood for and what they believed. And I started voting before he could ask me, because I wanted to make him proud.
I know that not all families are politically charged like mine. When I met my husband, the first election results we watched together he ask me if we were the red or the blue. That was the day I realized there really are people out there disconnected from politics. And as a side note, my husband is now a regular voter-proof that sometimes you can change a man!
As I watch the voting numbers decline with each and every election, I really wonder what is making people not cast a vote. We vote for the best business in town, we vote for our favorite American Idol contestant, and as humans we love giving our opinions-except for the one place it matters most- at the polls.
No matter what side of the aisle you are on, I think we can all agree on one thing.- voting is important. And exercising that right should not be taken for granted. It should be celebrated, embraced and instilled in our children. We teach our children to tie their shoes, to read and write. We have to make sure we are also teaching them the importance of voting. I still text my kids each and every Election Day to remind them to vote.
And today, I am thankful for so many things. At the top of that list is a family that taught me the importance of patriotism and exercising my right to vote.
Please vote. It is important.
