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(Editor’s Note: Views and commentary, including statements made as fact are strictly those of the letter writers.)
Dear Editor,
As our political elections draw near, once again I’ve heard those old rumors of “wasted votes.” The rumors seem to imply that any vote for a candidate not recommended by the Republican or the Democratic Party is wasted. I note here that our right to vote is enshrined in our Constitution, but no political party is so enshrined. In fact, George Washington, the Father of our Country, in his last written address to Congress, made a point of outlining the dangers to our country by various political parties and their special interests. He even maintained that one could not be true to a party and the Republic at the same time. Party politics tend to division. Now is a good time to note and think about the motto on the Great Seal of the United States. E Pluribus Unum, out of many, one. (I needed a magnifying glass to read it.) Looking at the history of party politics of at least the last seventy years, one could easily reach the conclusion that a vote for “the party,” whichever one, is the wasted vote.
The right of the common people to vote for the government that takes authority over them has been won by many movements and battles over thousands of years. At least from the slave revolts of ancient Rome to serf uprisings in the middle ages: Civil wars in various countries as disenfranchised citizens fought for their right to be treated as human beings; labor union movements as workers insisted on their right to have a say in how they were treated; the hard fought battles of women to secure for themselves the same voting rights that men have.
Millions of men, women and children have fought for and died for our right to vote. Respect the sacrifice of their lives: VOTE!
A wasted vote is not one cast. A wasted vote is one you were paid to cast. A wasted vote is one cast out of fear because of threats. A wasted vote is one cast for of the other candidate winning. A wasted vote is one cast just to “fit in,” to not look different. Employ your head and heart to decide. Don’t waste your vote – Use it!
David R. Hodges
Cave Junction