Well, its been a while since I've gotten wet in the pool...I
might as well jump in here. Greetings, everyone...I hope you've managed to
enjoy this practically non-existant summer...although today was a nice day for
me...not sure how town fared.
In my humble opinion the abysmal voter turnout numbers have a
single root cause, multiplied by what I will call enabling causes. Let me
elaborate.
The number one reason voters don't turn out is sheer
laziness. It is the same phenomenon that occurs when I feel that I should
attend a wake, for example, but do not because I'd rather stay home after
dinner. This is not apathy (see enablers). It is
laziness.
People are too lazy to become involved in the issues and the
candidates themselves. I don't mean working on campaigns, I just mean
figuring out who is running and why. I acknowledge that this is real
work...to dig through the ads and campaign literature and actually read
interviews and analysis pieces.
Lord knows I don't read policy papers, but I read
reviews. I'm an old debater and public speaker at heart...I'm fascinated
by politics and current events...most people arent. I will read papers
on-line for a couple of hours a day given the chance...most people
wouldn't.
If people educated themselves on the races and the stakes, we
would avoid the first of the enabling factors in low voter turnout, I
believe...that being apathy. Traditional disenfranchisement is an
additional enabling factor as well, of course...but none of these factors are
excuses.
I've even seen it in my own family (the man has a
doctorate, for crying out loud). 'I don't vote...I don't learn enough
about the issues...I'm not interested.' Apathy is
believing that you don't have a dog in this fight...that the candidates are the
same, all good apparatchiks...that forces larger that you control the
outcome.
Perhaps I am naive, but I don't think we've gotten there
yet. If he was anything, Jesse Ventura was evidence of fair and honest
elections in the great state of Minnesota...smiles...all votes do
count.
And then, or course, are the factors which enable apathy...big
money...negative campaigning...sure, corruption to a point, although I think
most of what is called corruption is more like inside baseball. These are
factors which society, and government, can try to control to minimize apathy,
but do not directly address the laziness nor apathy factors. Nobody
can haul the voter off the couch or out of work except themselves.
This is why so many other traditionally Christian countries
vote on Sunday...most people at least aren't working and are more likely to be
driving past their polling station and decide to stop. Other nations use
multi-day voting to make it more convenient. Our voting day is in our
constitution.
Is this a good thing? Maybe only the truly motivated
should vote...as they probably have two ideas to rub together. By the same
token, get out the vote drives on both sides bring many voters to the polls who
might be found wanting on the 'two ideas' test. I don't have the
answer.
I do know I don't think it's a lack of choices we are
suffering from. This nation is too big and too diverse...we could
theoretically elect a president with a, say, thirty percent popular vote and
then let the electoral college decide who should take office? Don't get me
wrong, I like the electoral college as a fundmental tradition of our federal
republic, but I think we 300 million of us need an either or choice when it
comes to CEO...just my thinking.
I do go on don't I? But when push comes to shove, people
are lazy...that is why they don't vote...and the world belongs to those who show
up.
As for Randy Kelley...this goes out to you Bob K (we disagree
on a lot of things but we are both patriotic Americans so we're also still buds,
I hope). He is playing a political game of 'Can I Be The Next Norm
Coleman?,' and it ain't gonna work. The Mayor of St. Paul won his office
as a Democrat, he shouldn't be endorsing Republicans. In reality is it
more complicated than that, yes, but if it walks like a duck...
I am actively working to defeat Goerge Bush in this November's
election. Anyone who wishes to impugn my patriotism is invited to do so in
this forum.
Bob Sebo
Winona
