Voting & importance of participation in focus
Voting is a right and a privilege, but it is also one of hardest decisions in your life. Your choice and decision will not only affect you, but millions of fellow citizens, affecting world markets, positioning how the world sees and reacts to the USA, and instrumental in how the world adopts democracy.
Your candidate can end up being one of the best Presidents, who then brings out the best in us, the citizens. They can be there during the worst of times, like world wars, and become a light in the darkness, a beacon of hope. They will play by the rules, but also plan for the long term, setting up programs we, the people, benefit by, like Social Security.
Or, they might bring out the worst, being racist, fascist, nepotistic, or greedy. They will not play by the rules, but will also plan for the long term too. They can set up petty tyrants in permanent government positions, such as the Supreme Court.
You see, being a democracy, we, as citizens, can choose the tyrant. But, why would we want to? Wouldn’t that choice limit our rights and the rights of others? Don’t we want the best for ourselves and our fellow citizens? Shouldn’t we, as a democracy, strive for more and better freedoms, for us all?
So, go vote this November, and hold these thoughts with you as you consider your choices. Be the hope, bring the light, and keep our freedoms as you check those boxes in that voting booth. It’s not just for you, but for us all.
KATHRYN M. HENKELS,
The League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area has been encouraging active and informed participation in government since 1920. The League is political, but nonpartisan, and never endorses nor opposes any candidate or party. As the General Election nears, the League is compiling the resources voters need to make educated decisions at the polls. One of those resources is the annual Voters Guide, which has been a trusted, nonpartisan source of information for Dayton area voters for over one hundred years. Each candidate in a contested race is contacted by The League and invited to respond to questions pertinent to the office for which they are running. The League publishes their answers in their own words without correction to grammar or spelling. If responses from a candidate are not found in the Guide, it is because the candidate chose not to participate or missed the deadline. Also included in the Guide are pro and con points on statewide ballot issues. This year’s Guide will be published and distributed to subscribers of the Dayton Daily News on Oct. 10. Copies will also be available at each Dayton Metro and Greene County Library, at local businesses and churches, and can be found on the League’s website, lwvdayton.org. Every election is important. Your League encourages voters to educate themselves about the candidates and the issues for which they will be voting. Your vote is your voice. Let it be heard! If you have questions, please contact the League office at 937-228-4041 or league@lwvdayton.org.
- BETH SCHAEFFER,