Thursday, July 03, 2008
Voters should be informed
Linda Whitlock
Recent columns
From the RoundTable blog
I was all set to lambaste the League of Women Voters over their new PSA campaign encouraging women to vote. It's all about self-expression, I was sure the ad said when I heard it on the radio. Voting is all about self-expression? No way, I thought. Then I listened to the ad again online. Oops! Freedom of expression is what it actually said. Chagrined, I hopped off my high horse and started contemplating other column topics.
Still, the claim that voting is about freedom of expression nagged at me. Is that what voting is all about? I sort of thought it was about rights and responsibilities.
Seems to me voting is less about freedom of expression than it is about our right as citizens to participate in government and the concomitant responsibility to prepare ourselves well to do so.
Voting is both a right and a privilege -- a patriotic duty even. But should everybody vote who's eligible to vote? I used to think so. Not anymore.
Now the only people I want voting are those who know something about the Constitution and who have taken the time to educate themselves on the issues, the candidates and the parties. It helps if they've also taken the time to understand their own moral framework.
When we vote, we're choosing the people who'll be making our laws and appointing our judges -- judges whose moral vision, even more than that of our elected representatives, will determine what the United States looks like.
Despite the common misperception, it isn't only the religious folks who want to impose their morality on everybody else. Every law is a reflection of someone's moral vision. If you vote, better make sure the candidates you vote for share yours.
Maybe, though, you don't vote. Politics, after all, is such a pain. And everybody knows all politicians are lying hypocrites -- corrupt, to boot. Besides, one vote won't make a difference, so why bother?
Worse, maybe you do vote. But you base your choice on which candidate promises to solve all your problems or has the most charismatic personality or the most appealing ads.
I doubt either of those descriptions fits readers of this column. Even so, you may not be as prepared to vote as you think.
Friday is Independence Day, four months exactly from the Nov. 4 election. It's possible that you, like me, aren't all that happy with our choices. But choose we must.
If you haven't yet decided for whom you're going to vote -- or even if you have -- here's my challenge: Spend the time between now and the election becoming a truly informed voter.
Start by figuring out your own moral vision or framework. What do you believe about right and wrong, good and evil? Why do you believe that? Who does it apply to? Everyone or only you? What role should government play in furthering the good? In redressing wrongs and punishing evil?
While you're working that out, spend some time reading the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, including the amendments. Pay close attention to the responsibilities the Constitution assigns to the government -- and the ones it doesn't. How do those square with what you think government ought to be doing or, for that matter, what it is doing? If you think the Constitution needs a little tweaking, what's the process for making that happen? Hint: It isn't judicial fiat or international consensus.
After you finish with the Declaration and the Constitution, check out each candidate's Web site, then take a look at voting records. Whatever candidates say they're going to do in the future, the proof lies in what they've done in the past.
After the conventions, read through the party platforms. How do the parties stand on issues vitally important to you? In terms of law-making, the party's position on an issue is more critical than one held by an individual candidate. If you have time, consult articles pro and con on the candidates.
If you've already done all that, great! If not, keep in mind that the freedoms we celebrate July 4 are way too important to be left in the hands of the uninformed, even if they're your own.
Whitlock, a Roanoke Times columnist, is an adjunct English professor who lives in Salem.
