I realize that this particular post will not necessarily mean a whole lot to some who read it, but America as a nation is about to come out and vote. Unfortunately, not all of America is going to come out. That is the topic I would like to address, or perhaps more appropriately, I would like to let President Coolidge address. This post is specifically directed to all American citizens that may happen to read this, whether they are eligible to vote or not.
As an American, you are a privileged individual. You have freedoms unprecedented in much of the global community. You live in one of the most affluent societies in the world. You have opportunities that the majority of the world only dream about. With this in mind, consider this radio address given by President Coolidge On November 3, 1924.
“All the opportunity for self-government through the rule of the people depends upon one single factor. That is the ballot box… The people of our country are sovereign. If they do not vote, they abdicate that sovereignty, and they may be entirely sure that if they relinquish it other forces will seize it, and if they fail to govern themselves some other power will rise to govern them. The choice is always before them, whether they will be slaves or whether they will be free. The only way to be free is to exercise actively and energetically the privileges, and discharge faithfully the duties which make freedom. It is not to be secured by passive resistance. It is the result of energy and action…”
“Persons who have the right to vote are trustees for the benefit of their country and their countrymen. They have no right to say they do not care. They must care! They have no right to say that whatever the result of the election they can get along. They must remember that their country and their countrymen cannot get along, cannot remain sound, cannot preserve its institutions, cannot protect its citizens, cannot maintain its place in the world, unless those who have the right to vote do sustain and do guide the course of public affairs by the thoughtful exercise of that right on election day.”
Every freedom that we as American citizens lay down will be taken up by someone else, be they domestic or foreign. We must not be children. When several children are playing with toys and one child stops playing with one, does it stay there on the floor? NO. We must exercise our privileges. We must remind ourselves of our rights and learn to protect them. As an American citizen, one of the most basic, fundamental rights we have next to those enumerated in the Bill of Rights is the right to vote. It is how “We The People” rule. It is how we express our will. It is not just a whimsical type of thing. Voting is not something we should try to remember to do if it convenient. We have a duty, to ourselves, to the nation which gave birth to us, or has adopted us, to our fellow citizens, and to our posterity. That is the duty and privilege to vote.
Wyatt Fairlead
What My Mind Does 