The results of the Avon Park city elections are a terrible disappointment.
We aren't referring to the actual results. We're referring to the abysmal turnout.
Out of about 4,000 eligible voters, only 600 or so turned out. That's roughly 15 percent.
Fifteen percent.
At a time when the city is in crisis.
At a time when city leaders need direction from their citizens.
But don't think this is just Avon Park's problem. Voter apathy is a national shame. It is nothing short of an embarrassment that we, who talk so big about democracy, continue to fail to practice it.
We lose patience with those who fly flags, wear red, white and blue, call themselves patriots and then sit home on election day.
We are fed up with all the whining and complaining when so few really care that they can make a difference.
And we are frightened by the growing trend of candidates running unopposed. That is a direct result of low voter turnout.
If we don't care, why should our elected officials care? Our very apathy gives them the excuse to ignore us, hide things from us, act as if we aren't here -- because, in fact we aren't.
This isn't just a disgrace -- it is down right dangerous.
Just because we have enjoyed almost 300 years of citizen-based government doesn't mean we always will. Nations rise and nations fall.
Rome collapsed with a push from the outside only because apathy, greed and ignorance corroded it from the inside.
What makes voting such an ordeal so many avoid it? If it's because of a lack of choices, why aren't more people running for office?
How do we change this pathetic state of affairs?
We've pleaded for voter participation on this very page before, to absolutely no avail. Clearly, appealing to higher instincts is falling on deaf ears.
Yet we can't force people to vote any more than we can force people to stop smoking. Doing the sensible, correct or smart thing, even the right thing, is a voluntary, individual act.
So, enough with polite entreaties. It's time to talk tough.
Listen up.
Voting is a duty, more than a right.
Did our brave battle heroes die so we could stay home, ignoring what goes on around us?
Or were they able to give up their lives because they believed we would fulfill democracy's promise? That they were dying for a worthy cause? That we wouldn't just mouth sentimental pieties of remembrance on Veteran's Day, but actively make history, thereby giving deep meaning to their sacrifice?
Those who withhold themselves from the whole demean those who died for it.
Wake up. Care. Be a part of the solution, not the cause of the problem.
The time to thank a veteran is in the voting booth.
Friday, November 06, 2009 - www.newssun.com/edt-1106-editorial