Celebrate your democracy: vote! (Especially for Vince DeMiero)

Posted on Aug 16, 2010 in Life | 1 comment

Democracy isn’t easy, but it is free

In Washington State, tomorrow is “democracy day;” or, as it’s better known: voting day. It’s the day by which your ballot must be postmarked, as 38 of 39 counties in the state  (Pierce county is the holdout) are now vote-by-mail. But whether you’re dropping a ballot in mailbox or ballot box, it’s the day to exercise your right to vote and to keep our democracy healthy.

Sad thing is, the majority of eligible voters just won’t—a whopping 62%, according to Sam Reed, Washington’s Secretary of State as reported by the Seattle Times.

Those of you who do, and who live in the first legislative district, I urge you to vote for Vince DeMiero, who’s running for State Representative, first position. He’s a democrat, but more importantly, he’s an honorable man—a teacher—who will serve his community as tirelessly as he’s served me in the early 90s and thousands of other students since then. Please educate yourself on his ideas and make your own decision. But whatever you do… vote for someone.

I helped a bit with Vince’s campaign, and after delivering over 100 flyers about Vince and his convictions to doors in Mountlake Terrace and Bothell, I realized something. The same attitude that causes well more than half of voters to simply not bother to do so also makes promoting democracy a challenge. An example will illustrate what I mean.

I was “literature dropping” in nice housing development in Bothell, list of addresses in hand and a satchel of flyers slung over my shoulder. The searching look on my face and constant reference to my list caught the attention of a group of three (nearly) senior citizens. “Which one are you looking for?” One of them called out, quite pleasantly, “They can be hard to find.” I walked over, told him the address, and he waved his hand down the lane. “If you’re handing out lottery numbers, we’re #301,” a lady in the group joked. “It’s not the lottery, exactly,” I said, “but it is important: Vince DeMiero is running for State Rep!” I handed her one of my flyers. Immediately her tone changed as though I’d just offered her drugs.

“This is private property,” she said cooly, “Soliciting is not allowed.”

“Oh, I’m not soliciting,” I told her, “I’m just passing out literature because Vince is relying on volunteers rather than big donations.” I’d barely finished speaking when she told me, “Yes, you are soliciting—that’s soliciting.” So I told her I was only dropping flyers off at addresses on my list, and this seemed to calm her down. I wished them a good day and went on my way. But she wasn’t the only one: I received a number of dirty looks from folks who saw me. This despite being professional and courteous to everyone, staying on driveways and sidewalks, etc. Ironically, those dirty looks often came from people in homes with door mats emblazoned with the large, friendly word: “Welcome!”

We are so lucky to live in a country where anyone can run for office and serve their community, from a town council on up to senator—even the president. But to steal a line from Spider Man‘s Uncle Ben: “with great power comes great responsibility.” Democracy is not a set-it-and-forget-it thing: it takes effort on behalf of the people. It’s sad to me when most eligible voters don’t even take a minimum amount of time to read their voter’s pamphlet, a website, or mailers from candidates to choose who will represent their interests—let alone participate in a campaign or run for office themselves. 

Like most experiences in life, having done the thing itself gives one a better insight into what it’s like. I for one will certainly listen when a volunteer is passionate about a candidate or ballot initiative. That’s what keeps our democracy healthy. So please, don’t be one of the majority: send in your ballot today if you haven’t already.

Oh, and be sure to fill in the circle next to Vince DeMiero, too!

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