Good Deed #24: Voting

Recently I've been procrastinating. Let's face it, this blog is a great example. And while I'm trying to play catch up, I've allowed my procrastination to spill into other areas of my life. Next Tuesday is the general elections, 6 emails, 3 fax machine attempts and $18 later, I have cast my absentee ballot. I don't know if my vote is worth $18 but I know my freedom to vote is priceless. It was surprising to walk around work today asking my colleagues if they had voted and to receive negative responses. It is because voting (especially in mid-term elections) is so rare that I consider it not only a good deed but my patriotic duty. Apathy has taken hold in our country. We are becoming more reliant on others to do things for us. We feel that we have less influence and control over our own destinies. We are fast moving towards a country of whiners and complainers instead of a Nation of problem solvers, doers and believers. Hope may have died on that historic day two years ago when we saw our President elected. In return, we've been cursed by a disease of resentment, finger pointing and pessimism. Those same people who see the country's glass as being half empty, I'm willing to bet are the same ones who wouldn't bother trying to vote.

Absentee voting in the military is not too difficult. I've been doing it for years. But when the clerk at the post office tells you that in order to guarantee delivery for Monday morning the cost will be $18...well then you start to get a "values" gut check at the door. I can't put a price on what that ballot means for me. Go ahead and ask Afghanis who risk being shot or blown up on their way to the polling station what the "freedom to vote means." It's your civil right to vote. And if you're worried about the future of the country and want to effect change, it's your obligation!