Not voting is really voting

Not voting is really voting

By JOHN MCCOY

Not long ago, someone said in an "online comment" that people should only blame the majority of people who voted for Proposition One for all the problems that measure had caused. The comment concluded that the people who hadn't voted were not to blame.

I believe that is one of the most incorrect (read stupid) statements I have ever heard or read. There is no such thing as "not voting." If you don't vote, you automatically vote for the winner. Not only that, but by not voting you lose any right you might have to comment on the outcome of the vote.

Look at it this way: I've heard and read many comments about how much harm Proposition One has done. Most, if not all, services which depend upon property taxes for their support have been adversely affected.

My point is that if everyone eligible to vote had cast a ballot, perhaps the outcome might have been different. I hear the same thing about the upcoming presidential election.

I do not want Barack Obama to be president - not because he's Black - I would probably have voted for Colin Powell, had he run - but simply because I believe another candidate more accurately reflects my views. I will vote, however.

What frightens me is the how many people I've heard say that none of the candidates are worth voting for and they will not vote at all. I believe that voters should, if they don't like any candidate, vote for the one whom they dislike the least.

We are fortunate to live in perhaps the only country in the world where we actually have a say in who governs us - each vote counts. There have been too many lives lost to preserve this right and not voting insults those who gave their lives so we could have this right. Anyone not believing this has only to review the history of our country.

Vote for Obama if you wish or vote for McCain - just vote. There are too many opportunities for people to say they don't have the time. Early voting for the Primary is now going on. You have the opportunity - use it.

 

John McCoy retired as a Senior Master Sergeant after 24 years in the Air Force. His assignments have included the United States, Guam, Germany, the Philippines, the Republic of Thailand and Alaska and he was on active duty during the Vietnam era. He has a long background in history and public information (newspapers and the like) for the military and works as a stringer for another area paper, the Westside Journal in Callahan.
After retiring from the military, he spent 13 years with AT&T, working as a customer service rep in long distance and as he says "if you had a problem with a bill, you might have talked with me."
He and his wife have been married for 45 years. They have six children, 10 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren (at last count).