If you’re not being urged or coaxed or beseeched to vote right now, perhaps you’re living under a rock. A very heavy rock. A rock, say, the size of Dallas, the size of Memphis or the size of Atlanta. And do you know what? Right now we’ll lift that rock off of you. For you do need to vote. And you, too. And you. And you. And you.
Thirteen contributors to The Clyde Fitch Report are offering 18 words — each — on why we plan to cast our ballots on Nov. 6. We want to know why you will vote, too. Please leave a comment at the end of this post.
Because even in my cynical dubiety about democracy,
alternatives suggest a system
in which no one can vote.
— Alan Harrison
Our government is of, by, and for the People.
Our leaders aren’t “them” — they’re us.
So speak up!
— Katelyn Simon
Because voting isn’t futile or irrelevant —
it’s our one chance
to directly shape how the country is run.
— Sean Douglass
Child observer of lever clack, curtain swish.
First vote 1976 in Michigan and six states since.
Anticipated privilege.
— Martha Wade Steketee
I vote because it’s the most powerful yet undervalued tool
Americans have to affect change.
Use it, please.
— Tom Berger
Because it is my inalienable right as a citizen
to have a say
on who runs our country.
— Iris Dorbian
I vote because I’m free
and sometimes because I’m excited,
like in the good years 1992, 2008-2016.
— Betsyann Faiella
I have voted at every opportunity
since I was 18
because it is my right and my responsibility.
— Shawn Lent
Vote. If you don’t,
All those angry rants will just be wasted negative energy,
distilled into the universe.
— Robert Burney
Because the Republic is in mortal and immediate danger.
Because human survival is at stake.
Is that enough?
— David Terrell
Because: people have died for my right to vote.
Would die for my right to vote.
Will die.
— Martha Garvey
I’m voting because
I’ve been drinking way too much wine waiting for this day
for nearly two years.
— Robin Rothstein
Where else on Earth
is the right to vote debated, not
celebrated, but in America? Just do it.
— Leonard Jacobs
Why are you voting?
Leave us a comment below.
