Vote by Tommia Wright

I like voting -really, I do.

Every Friday when I get the Bookreporter newsletter in my inbox, I go ‘straight to the poll’ and cast my vote. Wicked grin emerges if I’m among the first 20 voters on any given question – silly, I know.

And then there are polls like NPR’s “Best-Ever Teen Novel” that bring a rush of memories and moments of sadness. (They didn’t think “Little House on the Prairie” counted?)

To see a variety of options and an even wider variety of responses makes voting on things such as these quite fun. If I bothered, I might seek out similar options in music, movies and television.

Why don’t I have the same level of eagerness for voting that ‘matters’ – such as bonds, levies, politician to replace/displace? While books are there in ‘black and white’ – what facts serve as foundations for more funding does not (given the cons of pros, the pros of cons). As for some politicians (yes, I remembered my lesson about ‘false generalizations) – there’s too much muddling/mud-flinging in a field of gray. For once, I want to know why I should put my confidence in someone to do the task elected to. Not the slander/scandal/smut surrounding an opponent.

Alas, I digress.

“Vote” is a four-letter word that doesn’t necessarily get the same response as “work” or “play”. Instead, it seems voting season brings out “good” and “evil” – definitions that vary depending on who is speaking and who is targeted. The parade of cardboard in yards, posted by street signs, featuring one name the campaign hopes you’ll remember. A check mark in a box with words such as “Support” or “Reject” whatever initiative (that almost always brings an increase in taxes when there are plenty of questions surrounding where the current tax funds go now)…

Efforts have been made to create a fair election process: Unity ’08,  Democracy 21, The Campaign Legal Center and others. How can we, the people, continue to ensure that our voices are heard, that our concerns are kept in mind as to what needs to be done for our country to continue going forward?

I could put aside my personal reading today and go through the entire pamphlet. I could be reckless and just ‘eenie-meenie-miney-moe’ it with disastrous results.

Or I could keep to my routine of meditation first, silly reading second, and swap out either the audiobook or current memoir instead. See how the vote goes between “Sensibility” and “Apathy.”