Katie Doyle, Girl About Town

Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2004 - 1:36 p.m.

Warning: Gratuitous urging to vote follows. That's basically all this post is, because I wrote it at the request of someone else for their webzine, and since I am pms'g hideously right now and want to do considerable damage to something, I am not going to really write anything else. I am having really rotten issues with myself and my life right now. I am tired of laboring for other people for barely above minimum wage, no personal reward, and no company appreciation. I am tired of never really having enough money. I am tired of never having anything to sock away for retirement and the constant haunting knowledge that retirement isn't really that far away. I am tired of feeling fat when I know I am not. I am tired of craving sugar like it's heroin, 24 hours a fricking day. I am tired of wanting stuff I can not have. Stuff like health insurance and new contact lenses, and a pair of glasses that is not 7 years old, and yes, fixing the air conditioning on my fucking car so that I am not driving around in 110 degree heat with a rapidly diminishing glass of ice water for self-coolant that will not last the one hour drive that going anywhere in this fucking city takes. I am tired of pouring massive amounts of time and energy into projects and undertakings that for whatever reason do not work out. Ever.

And most of all, I am tired of knowing that this is my lot in life for another 50 fucking years.

So probably for the next week or so, at least until the pms leaves my fragile little ass alone, those of you who prefer Katie to Lola, or who don't want to read about voting, should probably skip your daily Girl About Town dose and go hang with Sunnflower, CuppaJoe, Marn, Weeme, or Sundry.

And now, here's the thing I wrote about voting; a rather informal, sometimes light, sometimes serious, every-once-in-a-while joking treatise for why you should register and vote.

So, you�re thinking of not voting, huh?
There�s an email making the rounds this week that says we should all keep the faith and get to the polls on November 2, because then, and only then, will the election be decided. It says a lot of other things too, but the bottom line is this: if it matters to you whether or not we have an idiot in the White House or an intelligent being we can trust to make intelligent decisions, if the environment or the economy or women�s issues or gun issues or freedom of religion/sexuality or free speech or privacy or alternative energy or the lives of Americans � the people you love � matter to you at *all*, you owe it to yourself, your children, your friends, family, and yes, your country, to register to vote and then to take yourself to the polls on Tuesday, November 2. To that end, I�m here to persuade you to register � and ultimately, to vote, this election.

Right. So let�s cut to the chase: What are some of the most common excuses people give for not registering or voting?

Excuse #1 for not registering/voting: �I don�t have time.�
You don�t have time? How long does it take to fill out a piece of paper? It�s a short form; all you have to put on it is your name, address, birth date, and signature, more or less. That�s it. And it�s not like you have to hunt up the form. It�s right out on the counter of any US Post Office. You fill it out, lick the pre-moistened seal, and drop it in the box. If that�s too much trouble for you, and you don�t want to leave the house � other than that walk to your mailbox, you can go to any number of websites and print and fill out the form, address your envelope, and stick a stamp on it, right in the privacy and comfort of your favorite armchair. Try any of the following sites, listed in order of ease of registration:

Votergasm
National Organization of Women
Rock the Vote

The first two even print the form in it�s finished state; you just fill it out online. Be warned, however, that while Votergasm is the easiest of the sites, it is also rated a definite PG-13. Nothing on the link provided is explicit; however, the rest of the site can be a little racy and uses suggestive language. I guess the people at Votergasm figured out that sex sells, and they really want to sell voting!

As for voting itself, I have voted in every single election since I turned 18, and in 4 out of 5 of those elections, it has taken me more than 15 minutes exactly once. And that�s not even counting primaries and Congressional elections, which take even less time. So in the last 20 years of my life, I have spent maybe 1 hour and 40 minutes to exercise my Constitutionally-protected right to vote. That�s 100 minutes, which comes out to 5 minutes for every year of the last 20. FIVE MINUTES. To cast my vote in a process that affects the rest of my life. You don�t have time? That�s the lamest excuse I�ve ever heard!

Excuse #2 for not registering/voting: �It�s too hard.�
What on earth is hard about it? Write, lick, drop. Drive, walk, punch.

Wow. I see your point.

Excuse #3 for not registering/voting: �I have to work.�
Now, see, the nifty thing about voting being Constitutionally-protected and all is that the Founding Fathers knew it was important enough that everyone needed to be given the opportunity. To that end, polling places are open from 8am to 8pm on Election Day. And if there was ever a day when you had a free pass for coming in to work late, that�s it. What four little words have so much power they will stop an irritated boss in his tracks more surely than any others? �I had to vote.� Try it; it�s kinda fun.

Excuse #3 for not registering/voting: �My vote doesn�t count.�
Hmm. Whose vote does, then? Truly, who do you think chooses our elected officials? And before you trot out that hackneyed excuse the Electoral College, let me explain something. The Electoral College is made up of representatives, sort of like Congress is. And yes, technically those representatives (aka electors) cast the votes that decide the presidency. But here�s the key bit of information a lot of people miss: your vote tells the electors who to vote for.

That�s right. You go to the polls and cast your vote. Whichever candidate receives the highest percentage of votes is the candidate whose electors get to vote in the electoral college. So yes, you are voting for the president, and yes, your vote counts. The only difference is that you, yourself, don�t get to take the message to Congress � a messenger does. But you have to give the messenger the message. And you can�t do that unless you vote. So get out there and register, today, because time is literally running out.

Okay, Okay, I�m registered. What now?
Now that we�ve gotten the excuses out of the way, lets talk about why you should vote. This is where most people try to guilt you into it with the numbers. Do you know how many people gave their lives so that we here in America would have the freedom to decide who our leaders are? Do you know how many black people fought for the right to vote? How many women? How many people died marching for voters� rights before the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed? How many people in other countries would give their eye teeth for the right to vote? Then those flingers of guilt will point out how happy those people would have been to be able to freely march into a school or firehouse to cast their votes every November of their lives.

Humbug.

That does not mean a hill of beans to you and I, does it? We�ve always had the right to vote, and you can�t miss what you�ve always had; it�s too easy to take for granted. But I will say this:

This election is the most important election of our lives, if not the most important one in the history of our country or at least since the end of the Civil War.

More hangs in the balance now than it ever has. Our national forests, clean air, clean drinking water, global warming, the world�s oceans. Our national and state economies, education, health care, women�s rights, programs for children, social security, Medicare. Freedom of religion, the separation of church and state, your privacy, free speech, and the right to marry whomever you choose. And that�s just to name the things we face every day. There�s also America�s presence in the world and how we behave there; what enemies we make and the friends we lose, and how that affects our ability to remain safe at home.

But more than the issues at hand, your vote is the one chance you have to take the kind of stand that really counts, to make your voice heard, and to effect change in a world full of uncertainties and chaos. We do not live in an apathetic world. We live in a world that rightly or wrongly wants to knock us down. It wants to tell us what to do, what to wear, how to live. We can not meet that world with apathy, or we will spend the rest of our lives with the shortest end of the stick. Our vote is the only chance we have to speak up and say �This is what I want and what I need, and you can not take it from me peaceably. I will not give my rights and my beliefs away. These things are important, and you can not harm them.�

The bottom line is you don�t have to agree with what I say is important here, what your spouse or significant other says, or what your neighbor thinks, to make a decision and cast your vote at the polls this November. You just have to care. You have to choose at least one thing that is important to you, that matters, and do something to make it happen.

Vote.

Peace out,
Katie

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In which Katie pokes her head in and brushes some of the cobwebs away - Thursday, May. 06, 2010
In which Katie asks you to write your congressman again. - Monday, Jun. 02, 2008
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