If you’re a registered voter, you’ve been bombarded the last few weeks (months) with text messages, phone calls, and mailers stuffing your mail box.  Yes, it’s annoying.  Yes, I don’t blame you if you can’t wait until next Wednesday morning.  But it’s part of living in a free democratic country where voting is the principal way we choose our leaders and the direction of our local community, state, and country.

It reminds me of the Churchill quote about democracy:

“Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…”

Winston S Churchill, 11 November 1947

He would have known.  He wrote those words a short two years after the end of World War II and the dawn of the Cold War.

Actually, our country’s form of government is not technically a democracy but rather a federal republic and a constitutional representative democracy.  We have a strong presidential system and representatives elected by the people who are elected to represent their interests and make legislative decisions on their behalf.

So, why is it important to endure the mailers, the texts, and the phone calls?  Because each one of us has a role to play in the course of our country.  It is a duty each of us hold as citizens of the United States of America.  Our form of government doesn’t work if the people refuse to participate.

There are thousands of excuses not to vote but there are civic and moral imperatives as to why you should vote.  Imperatives (obligations) trump excuses every time.  So, if you haven’t already voted, educate yourself on the candidates and the issues.  Then go do your duty as a citizen and vote.