And The Winner Is.....(Part I)

Now that 2008 has begun, the upcoming elections will take the driver's seat in the media. The reason is that long before the November elections, the various states will hold their caucuses / primaries. Simply put, states hold caucuses / primaries in order to select their preferred candidate for the elected office (presidential, congressional, etc). In fact, the first caucus for the 2008 Presidential election is being held in Iowa tonight.

In the case of many African-Americans (not ALL), voting and elections seem to be non-issues. However, there are reasons given. Below I have a few of my personal favorites:

5. I don't vote because my vote doesn't count. (Now if 10 million of you say the same thing......)
4. I don't vote because the outcome of the elections don't affect me. (You live in the U.S., don't you?)
3. I don't vote because I don't know anything about the candidates. (.......)
2. I don't vote because I'm not registered. (http://www.register-vote.com/)
AND THE ALL -TIME FAVORITE.....

1. I don't vote because that's how people get chosen for Jury Duty. (WOW!)

I could go on and on about slavery, the 3/5ths compromise, and the fact that so many of our foreparents fought and died up until and through the 1960s to get equal voting and civil rights for African-Americans. So everytime we neglect our duty at the polls, we are spitting in their faces. I could rant and rave that in so many other countries (ex. Iraq, Pakistan, and Kenya more recently) free, fair, and orderly elections are not common practice. But instead, I'll just leave it at this: Voting is one of the easiest ways to affect change in our communities. I'm not just talking about voting once every 4 years in the presidential election, and then expecting all the woes of your neighborhood to be taken care of. News Flash: The person who is elected to the office of President has to look out for the interests of the 300+ million people that live in this country. So don't expect for the President to be especially sensitive to YOUR needs. However, if you take the time to vote for candidates (who share your values and ideologies) at the municipal and state level, you will be able to affect change much closer to home. When you vote for your senators and congressmen, you are able to affect the legislation that is passed, not only for your particular state, but for the nation as a whole. Your vote helps to get the right persons in office to create the necessary changes in education, healthcare, public assistance, and other issues that directly and/or indirectly affect YOU. Check back in for "And The Winner Is.... (Part II)".