Power for the People

It's Election Day, 2008. Today you have to decide, once and for all, what you want America to do over the next four years. Despite the propagandizing from the left, both sides represent a significant change from George Bush, be it for ill or good.

When you go to the polling locations, you'll be bombarded by last ditch pitches. You'll be given handouts and lists. By all means, vote your conscience or your party. It's your vote. Just think about some things while you are there, a pro/con list if you will.

1. A stable, relatively peaceful middle east benefits the whole world. It is in the national interest of the US in particular. Not just for Israel's sake ... consider Turkey, our great ally, and a nation which will be home, in the current crisis, to some of the most stable banks. A 98% Muslim nation that loves America and is at home in the west. Turkey needs us, their ally, to be strong. Americans are purportedly war weary. Those with loved ones overseas no doubt mean this the most sincerely, and feel it the most strongly. The rest of the country may, in some ways, be seen as war reporting and war politicking weary. I was in the Marine Corps for six years and I have a number of close friends involved in Iraq. Some are just as weary, but many more are not. They do have something in common with Turkey, though. They want America to stay firm in our support for Iraq, both in terms of money and troop commitments.

I was just in Turkey. I interviewed dozens of people over the course of a week, from cab drivers to the President. I'll be writing about it once the election is over and attention is less laser-focused on voting. However, one thing I can tell you with confidence is that people who live and work in the middle east, whose standard of living and, indeed, very lives depend on stability, know that a massive troop pullout would be disastrous. Resist the urge to dismiss this out of hand for partisan reasons. There are real people with lives at stake. People who depend on us to finish what we started, to help build a stable and democratic Iraq. We can't let them be abandoned. Barack Obama has had abundant opportunity to review the situation in the middle east and change his plan for a 16 month firm withdrawal but has refused to do so for partisan gain. When you go to vote, you think about those citizens of the middle east, with no vote here, who may live or die by what you do today.

2. America is about the power of the people, at its core. We are exercising that power today. On other days, we exercise that power by proxy, through our elected officials. A core belief in this nation is that the power must be checked, that all voices must be heard. The Democrats are trying to change that belief. They openly seek their total control of all facets of government, from the Supreme Court appointments coming down the line, to their hope for a super-majority which would effectively silence any remaining Republicans, to having a President in power over such a scenario from the same party. They plan to enact legislation such as the card check bill in order to line campaign coffers over the next two years with unprecedented amounts of union money, helping to ensure even greater control two years from now. Add that power to the necessary loss of liberty that comes with an onerous tax burden and lower class dependency on government, and you have a very frightening picture indeed. The specter of totalitarianism itself. When you go to vote today, ask yourself if you are willing to hand the entire government to one party, a party which was instrumental in causing the worldwide economic crisis, and which presides over a congress with a lower approval rating than George Bush.

3. Voting is a responsibility as well as right. That means sometimes we must forgo our emotional impulses in favor of rational thought. This means that you must look at your city, your district, and your state objectively. Before you vote straight Republican or straight Democrat, find out who really plans to act according to your values and ideals. Sometimes you may be surprised by the outcome.

4. The partisan war this campaign season has no doubt been invigorating for some. It feels good to take sides and fight tooth and nail for one side. When the election is over, however, no matter who wins, it is your responsibility to help bring America back together. Don't depend on a politician or pundit to make this happen. Tonight and this weekend on Unusable Signal, we'll likely bicker and argue. But we'll still be a group of liberals and conservative who get together, work together, and remain friends. If you don't reach out and reach across, who will?

I won't be reading the comments on this blog. People will gripe and complain about points one and two. Yet I urge you to set aside your partisan impulses for about five minutes and at least consider them. At the very least, having done so, you can cast your vote and say "I was fair."

Most importantly, do something. I often find "get out the vote" messages trite and condescending but, this year, it really seems important to say. It matters, what you do today. It matters what you say. Don't let your voice be uncounted. Don't be left out. This is the time to say your piece. Vote for someone or vote against someone, but get out and vote.