Vote -- It's your civic duty

Tuesday, the United States will conduct another national Election Day. It is what we refer to as an "off year election," which means that there are no candidates running for president. Elections are so important to our democratic way of life that I have always felt that the right to vote was really more of a duty than a privilege.

The real election/voting issue for many Americans is sadly a total lack of interest. It is truly amazing to listen to so many people constantly complaining about the president, the Congress, the governor, or even the local city council member. It is amazing because very often when you press the complainant, they will admit that they did not vote in many of the recent elections.

When you actually take the time to discuss the reasons for missing the opportunity to cast a vote, you come to realize, that most of these citizens simply did not make voting, an important part of their life. We all make time for the things we like to do, but more often than not, a large number of registered voters, simply find almost any excuse possible, to avoid the ballot box.

I hear one sentiment from people from almost every walk of life and political persuasion. They say, "I am so tired of all these political ads on television, and the mailers I keep receiving every day or so."

Well, just consider what it would be like if you lived in North Korea and the only signs and ads you ever got to see were the ones controlled by the state!

You should thank your lucky stars that you have been born in a country that is still the freest place that has ever been known to the human race. A place where you not only have a guaranteed right to vote for your leaders, but also a place where any citizen can be a candidate, and run those ads, and mail those mailers.

I do have some issues with our current state of affairs when it comes to elections and voting, however. First, I want us to enter the 21st century, in dealing with our election process.

We live in a modern fast paced world that is much different than the world of our Founding Fathers. The idea that you can only vote on one day every two years in November, and only within a short period of time during the day, is just not very smart in this era.

I recently wrote an article about Constitutional Amendments. Well, I would be very much in favor of an Amendment that changes the days and length of time for voting. Instead of the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of even years, being the set day for national elections, lets try another approach.

What would be wrong with having elections that lasted for three days from the first Friday in November of even years, through Sunday evening? Give our citizens more time to find their way to the polls. Voting should never be a contest to try and keep people away from their civic voting right.

Twenty years ago, less than two percent of our population had a cell phone. Now practically everyone has one. People shop with them, and do all manner of operations daily. I wouldn't have an issue if we used the new finger print technology to allow people to vote on their phone.

We don't have much trouble in our area with voting irregularities, but they do in many states like Florida. It's been 14 years since the debacle of the 2000 election, and they have done little to remedy those issues.

You cannot convince me that our country and government cannot find ways to expedite the voting process. Unfortunately, the very same gridlock that exists at most national and state levels of government has prevented this from happening.

One election issue that I think is really in need of a change is the one dealing with campaign donations. In a recent decision by the Supreme Court, they found that it was not unconstitutional for large corporations to donate money directly to candidates and political action committees.

Here again, I think we should have a Constitutional Amendment that would override the courts decision. Regardless of which party you consider yourself to be a supporter, or what your political leanings might be, you are a single citizen. You can never have the power or money to stand up to these huge corporations and PACS.

Money has always been part of the problem. It is listed as one of the original seven deadly sins. In recent years, our elections have become more and more about who can raise the most money, not who has the best ideas.

Having said that, we still have all the power we need as Americans to overcome these obstacles, and the very first line of defense is our stepping inside the voting place, take the pencil in hand, and casting your Constitutional given right to vote.

No excuses will be accepted, nor should they. You live in a country that has lost millions of lives defending your democracy. The very least you can do is repay their sacrifice by performing the most basic civil duty of all, voting.

There is an old saying, "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me." Well here's a new one, "if you are such a fool that you don't take the time to vote, you deserve to be fooled again and again and again!"