Put in your 'two cents worth'

It’s almost election day. Do you vote? I do. I vote because it is the best way I know to put in my two cents worth. The only problem is that my vote seems to be the kiss of death for a candidate. I always vote for the loser. It doesn’t matter what office the candidate is seeking. If I vote for them, they lose.

In one primary election I tried to evade this outcome by casting my ballot for the rival of my first choice. I didn’t let anyone know who I wanted to win. It didn’t matter. The one I secretly picked was left in the dust of the victor.

We have a political sign in our yard. I sincerely hope that I have not jinxed the person whose name is out there for the world to see. In the past we have had signs stuck in our lawn for several people I had no intention of voting for. I’m not sure if they won or not.

Maybe I could market this uncanny ability I have. Do you think anybody would pay me to vote for the other person? Is buying votes illegal if you buy them for someone else? Probably … or at least it is in this country.

We take the process of choosing our representatives casually in America. We know that no matter whom we elect, the process of bureaucracy will temper any decisions they make. One person can make a difference, but usually not much of one.

So many people go into politics with the belief that they can change things for the better. Sometimes they can. Most of the time they find that they are just a small cog in the vast machinery that we call government and everything they try becomes as easy and ultimately as frustrating as slogging through waist-deep mud.

Knowing all this, we still vote. We hike up to the church, punch holes in a paper card and walk home, hoping that the name we didn’t recognize but voted for anyway isn’t some crazy person. During this trek we wonder yet again just why they have changed our polling place to one that is farther away than our previous voting location. Maybe they think we need the exercise.

We are glad that we don’t live in a time where people aren’t allowed to cast a simple ballot without having to pass a “literacy” test if their skin is the wrong color or are banned from voicing an opinion if they are female. We are glad that whom to vote for is our decision, not someone else’s.

We vote because we can. If we were all to stay home on election day, then our leaders would be chosen by a select few. If the trend were to continue to its ultimate end then it is foreseeable that our government would be hand-picked by only one or two men.

I have seen the choices made by one or two men and almost never agree with them. By voting I get to say, “this is what I want, these are the issues that are important to me.” I may never pick a winner but at least I make sure that my opinion is heard.

Will your voice be heard on election day or are you one of the majority who stays home because you don’t think your vote counts? My vote counts. Why else would each and every person I vote for lose?

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