Vote

Tomorrow is Election Day and while the country has been watching the national race for our next president, closer to home, and in a much more dignified manner, we have local folks, our neighbors, running for political office that respectfully need our attention.
Tip O'Neill, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, once said, “All politics is local.” He was referring to the decisions made in Washington and how they affect the lives back home. But, when you get right down to where the rubber meets the road, local politicians have a greater impact on most of our lives than the federal clowns.
As representatives on our school boards, city councils, and county commissions, these folks determine the quality of roads we drive on, the level of law enforcement we will enjoy, the quality of schools our children attend, not to mention the amount of local taxes we pay.
They oversee departments that control our water supply, handle our waste, remove the snow, maintain our parks, and develop subdivisions. They enter contracts on our behalf to deliver energy and other services to our homes, yet most of these people do this for very little pay. And I know they don't do it for the press coverage and to satisfy huge egos.
These local politicians bravely throw their hats into the ring because they believe they can make a difference. They know some will publicly win and others will publicly lose, yet the desire to improve conditions right here in our home towns drive them to lay their ideas and beliefs on the line for all to see. This takes courage.
How can we recognize and reward their courage? By voting. By stepping up to our fundamental responsibility to vote and to carry out democracy in its purest form. No games and gimmicks here. No delegates or super delegates carrying our vote in their pocket to some national party for confetti lovers.
This is true democracy. This is what our forefathers had in mind. This is what our ancestors fought and died for. This is what we fight for today across the globe. We amended our U.S. Constitution three times to expand the voting privilege; giving blacks the right to vote in 1870, women the right to vote in 1920, and 18 year-olds the right to vote in 1971.
On Tuesday, keep the American Dream alive, and vote. Do it for yourself and for your family. In fact, if you can, make it a family affair and take the kids with you. Teach them early that one voice, one vote can and does make a difference.

And do it for those people who have asked that their names be placed on the ballot for your consideration. They want to work for us, and are asking that we hire them to do a job. We owe them an answer, and that answer is our vote. We may deny them the position, but we should never deny them our vote.
So let the national media go ga-ga over the Obamas of the world. Let them chase them from state to state like ants fighting over a crumb. Out here in the heartland we have work to do and a world to feed. So on Tuesday, right in the middle of planting season, we'll take a few minutes to pare down the field to a manageable level and in November, right during harvest, we'll take a few more minutes and vote for our next leaders.
Leaders that share the same streets, the same air, the same church pews as us. Leaders who know us by our first name. Local folk, just like us, but with the courage and conviction to try and make our home towns a better, safer place to raise our families. I may not always agree with them, but I will always respect them, and I'll start by voting tomorrow.
Please vote, no excuses, you'll feel better, I guarantee it.