I have heard the “I’m not a political person” excuse for not voting for as long as I have been going to the polls – about five decades now. My response has shifted over the years – from confrontation to shoulder-shrugging to attempts at meaningful discourse. More people don’t vote than vote, at least here in Garfield County, Colorado. Most turn out every four years to vote for US President. For example, out of 36,618 registered voters, 13,974 votes were cast in the 2022 primary election. That means less than 38% voted in the primary. What will happen in November is anyone’s guess.
Well, I live in Garfield County and I’m voting. Here’s why…
First, our incumbent CD3 representative appears to be moving in the direction of fascism. Signs of fascism, according to one source, include “powerful and continuing nationalism”. Here’s one Boebert example:
Another sign included in the list of twelve is “religion and government intertwined”. Boebert states “the church is supposed to direct the government”. What… is she stupid? Perhaps. But, I prefer to think she’s been brainwashed by her misaligned religious convictions. She is one of those end times politicians who believes in the Book of Revelations and the second coming of Christ. Dangerous stuff when it is, after all, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Smug, so-called Christian, politicians who believe in this stuff seem to talk/act/vote in ways they think will hasten those end times. And, patronize those who believe differently (ie: the “woke left” as Boebert puts it). Yet, she is quick to strap on her gun in the name of freedom. God, guns, and guts. I’m so sick of these Jesus Freaks and their pompous claim to know what’s good for everyone.
President Harry Truman invoked the Christian god in his August 9, 1945 speech after the Potsdam conference and after the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki:
We must constitute ourselves trustees of this new force — to prevent its misuse, and to turn it into the channels of service to mankind. It is an awful responsibility which has come to us. We thank God that it has come to us, instead of to our enemies; and we pray that He may guide us to use it in His ways and for His purposes.
https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/harrystrumanpotsdamconference.htm
As if God gave the atomic bomb to the US as a service to mankind.
As if God had a purpose for this ultimate weapon of mass destruction.
I guess the end times politicians would agree. Would you?
Last summer, some Colorado Democrats were so worried that Boebert would win the Republican primary that they urged fellow Dems to change their party affiliation to vote against her. I was one of those who changed my affiliation so I would have the choice, if it came down to it. I didn’t vote Republican. I hope I never do.
But, I voted in the primary and I will vote in November. And, I have this to say to those who don’t vote for whatever reason:
Not voting is a selfish act. Everyone is a political person – it’s our responsibility as citizens of the US. If more people voted, results would be unimaginably different. It would make a huge difference.
It’s selfish to ignore the needs of your community or your nation and not engage in the most important right we still have.
It’s selfish (and dangerous) to blinker yourself against your own ignorance, to live a life that puts the power of decision in other people’s hands.
It’s selfish to turn your back on your fellow citizens. We need everyone’s voice in order for this democracy to work.
From Western Colorado 