THINK BEFORE YOU VOTE, and then, VOTE!

This morning I heard a brief story on NPR about a political ad that aired on a Spanish (television?) station. The ad urged folks to refrain from voting. The producer of the ad was interviewed and said that due to the 60-second time limit, he edited the last phrase of the ad, the phrase urging people not to vote, from the original, which urged people to refrain from voting for candidates who have betrayed or ignored them. While I understand the sentiment (why vote for someone who does not have at least some of your interests at heart?), in this, as in so many other things, context is key. Thanks, NPR, for doing an in-depth story and giving the producer a chance to explain his editing decision.

November is fast approaching and with it comes the end of all those commercials on tv promoting candidates or trashing candidates or urging us to be single-issue voters. This year an inordinate amount of money has been spent by "independent" groups who obliquely endorse a candidate under the guise of advocating for a cause. The Supreme Court decision that allows these groups to lawfully do so is a sound one, legally, but many groups are slacking on reporting how much money they're spending and completing FCC forms, the purpose of which is for reporters and the public are able to track these funds.

Being a U.S. citizen is a pretty sweet deal, generally, especially for those of us who were granted automatic citizenship by dint of being born in one of the 50 states. We're free to complain about everything about our republic, we're free to gather and protest and criticize our government and leaders. I see my basic obligations as a citizen as being confined to paying taxes, returning library books, moving my car on street-cleaning days, and voting. That isn't so much for our government to ask of us, is it?

My dad (a pro-life, smart, thinking Catholic who is a staunch Democrat) and I went to see and listen to the excellent historian and academic Jill Lepore the other night at Porter Square Books here in Cambridge, and she reminded the audience that our experiment is a new one, that our country and government are novel tests for what happens when democracy is put into action. To this end, citizens are pioneers (sans the irritating and dangerous covered-wagon travails). We are obligated to research and think about candidates and, after they are elected, to track the job our representatives are doing.

Be picky! Picky-Picky Quimby was freed from these responsibilities, as he was a cat, and didn't even get a vote within the family on what he ate or whether Ramona ought to be confined to the basement instead of him. If you're reading this you're likely not a cat, and so you are held accountable for your actions (or non-actions) as a citizen. So be picky, think, and then VOTE next month.