UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

NEW SPECIMENS OLD SPECIMENS THE SCIENTIST MY LOG CONTACT ME
2002-10-22 - 6:59 p.m.

BEING COUNTED

Ever since I turned eighteen, I have gone to the polls in every election. I�ve had friends tell me I was wasting my time. I�ve had friends tell me that I was being naive if I believed that showing up made a difference. But I vote�and I try not to listen to people complain about their own elected officials unless they do the same. I�m not interested in those who believe politics is a spectator sport. If you�re going to be apathetic, do it well and be apathetic all the way.

My grandparents never took their vote for granted. The set of grandparents who came from Eastern Europe looked on the vote not just as a privilege but as a sacred obligation. Freedom requires sacrifice and the annoyance of listening and learning as well as the act of going out to vote is such a small one to make. Yet, for some reason, perhaps because of the smallness, it seems an easy one to overlook.

The grandparents who were born in this country also voted. My grandmother went further and helped manage campaigns. She once told me that she could never be sure that her candidate would make a difference if he won but she could be sure that she wouldn�t know unless she helped him try. She didn�t phrase it this way but she was echoing the Jewish saying that you are not obligated to complete the task but neither are you free to refrain from it.

My parents too viewed politics as a sport too serious for mere spectators. They vote regularly and Dad has managed campaigns. I remember a weekend morning when I was sixteen when he awakened me too early (probably before noon) because he was short of workers to stuff envelopes. I spent my teenage years doing lit drops, knocking on doors, and telephoning to see who needed rides to the polls.

Sometimes we don�t get the candidates we deserve. Failing to vote guarantees that we will never deserve better. You can bemoan the state of the world or you can do what you can in your own small way.

So, even though the completely negative ads of the fall campaign in Wisconsin make me want to vomit, I�ll nibble on crackers and vote�because the only way to be counted is to vote. And lest you wonder why I feel so strongly, remember I won my school board seat by only twenty votes.

LAST YEAR: Regularity



LAST FIVE ENTRIES:

Welcome Back, I Think
Any Takers Out There?
The Guitar
The Mildew of Boredom
Get Up and Go

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