As the campaign heads into the final stretch — only 35 days to go — more and more people are beginning to realize the enormous consequences our votes will have on November 8 and more and more people are beginning to warn us, “Only [we] can prevent a Trump presidency.”
Among them, one of my favorite journalists, Eugene Robinson.
In a column at the Washington Post, Robinson begins:
I know, I know, the point I’m about to make is painfully obvious. But it is not in any sense trivial: If you care who wins the election next month, get off the couch, go down to your polling place and vote.
He then warns us, “If you’re tempted to think this is in the bag, however, look around,” and Robinson provides several examples where voter apathy, low voter turnout, voter over-confidence, etc have led to disastrous consequences.
Robinson concludes, “There is one sure way to avoid the nastiest of surprises on Nov. 8: Vote, or you’ll have no right to complain.”
A good friend — a combat vet, a patriot — uses his poetic skills to tell us:
It would be a tragic shame
If from voting you abstain
You may find the choice between two charged with “sleaze”
As rational voters you are caught in a squeeze
But listen up, if you please
Take some time – get on your knees
Consider what happens if you walk away
The ideologues and extremists will vote and have their say
Democracy requires active participation
Don’t get caught up in mental constipation
Voting is a patriotic duty that many died to defend
Without your involvement Democracy will end
It took 144 years for women to get their say
It took many brave women to lead the way
You know who will vote, those at the loud extremes
They whom toward a conspiracy monger leans
Take some time before you enter the voting booth
Screen the political claptrap and then look for the truth
Make up your mind, even though you may find it a bitter pill
If you leave it to others you could pay a heavy bill
For each of you who does not mark a ballot
Increases an extremist’s power by 100 percent – and that’s a lot!!
Not much left to the imagination here.
Please vote on November 8, or before.
Lead image: shutterstock.com
