The way we decide...

I don't think it's a good idea to vote for the sake of voting. Just because one has the privilege. Yes, maybe an ill-informed vote is a bad thing. But in a democracy, I guess, to vote is to vote is to vote. Like it's an automatic exercise. Robot-like. One is told to trek to the polls and cast a vote. For someone. Doesn't necessarily mean that one has to understand what or whom one is voting for. Many people are prodded into voting. Like rats in a maze. Just do as one is told. By a precinct worker. Or by a pundit on TV. Or by one's colleague. Or just because that's what an American citizen is supposed to do. Sometimes, voting is like joining a lynch mob. It seems like the right thing to do at the time. We vote against someone. Because we are told he's a bad guy. Maybe a communist. Or a socialist. Doesn't matter that it ain't true. Sometimes, we vote against a black guy. Only because he's black. We like the other guy's skin color better. Or we vote against someone because she's a woman. Doesn't really make sense. But hey, we are free to decide for ourselves. Maybe guys with blue eyes are evil. Or maybe he isn't a Christian, or the right kind of Christian, and therefore he doesn't deserve our vote. Funny thing, isn't it? The way we decide who gets our vote. --Jim Broede