Democracy In Motion: The Importance of Voting | Comment

November 2, 2010 is a date that will go down in the annals of history in the United States.  This may be the very day where the United States turns the clock back to some of its darkest days from a policy and cultural standpoint.

The Tea Party movement has been piping hot since the spring of 2009. In the minds of many on the progressive left and moderates, the election of President Obama has been the reason why the members of the Tea Party have been boiling over in their rage and dissatisfaction of where the country is headed.

The Tea Party has delivered candidates to the mainstream such as Sharron Angle, Ken Buck, Christine O’Donnell, Marco Rubio, Joe Miller, Rand Paul among countless others who have chosen to become a part of this political movement in this country. The only reason why these people have been able to become successful in their bids for various Senatorial and House of Representative seats is due to the failure of American citizens to exercise their full right to vote.

Why is it important to vote?

Voting dates back to elections held in ancient Greece, ancient Rome and throughout the Medieval period to select rulers such as the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope. According to the Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World, elections were also used to select rajas by the gana in several ancient Indian caliphs, Uthman and Ali, in the early medieval Rashidun Caliphate; and to select the Pala king Gopala in early medieval Bengal.  The modern version of the term election didn’t emerge until the 17th century when the idea of representative government took shape in North America and Europe.

The 2008 Presidential election brought out Americans by the millions to the polls. After the 8 years of President George W. Bush, the populace was looking for overwhelming change and that became the platform then Senator Barack Obama ran on. His oratorical gift was on full display and many Americans became enraptured in the spirit of his messages. Once he defeated Hilary Clinton in the Democratic primaries, it was just a matter of time before he was crowned with the Presidency.

Senator John McCain won the Republican primary and he knew he would have to make a big splash when he chose his Vice-Presidential candidate to give him any chance of beating then Senator Barack Obama. He made the critical error in judgment when he chose then little known Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. Sarah Palin’s ascendancy has been problematic on a number of levels, but Senator McCain’s or some individuals would say Karl Rove’s decision of backing Palin as a vice-presidential candidate has helped in leaving an irremovable stain from the fabric of our country. She has been the loudest voice amongst a homogeneous crowd of limited intelligence.

Fortunately, the voters’ voices resonated loud and clear when Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States, but a troubling trend has reigned supreme since that electoral victory for the country. Since that historical triumph, many citizens have sat on their proverbial derrieres living in apathy while there has been more work to do in driving out of the ditch that President Bush’s regime left us in. Too many Americans forgot the importance of voting in EVERY election.  Primary elections are just as important as main elections. The lack of citizens showing up and making their votes count has left our country in a very vulnerable, perilous position.

These Tea Party candidates believe in an America where only white men made the rules and people of color were reduced as second-class citizens. There have been a plethora of vulgar and repulsive examples citing their beliefs in taking the United States back to the days of Reconstruction and Jim Crow and their supporters verbally and physically abusing people who don’t share the same sentiments they do. This is what can happen when people don’t understand the importance of voting.

FOX News aka Tea Party Central has conspired in the sabotaging of America. It’s unprecedented and beyond disturbing. Giving Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and people of their ilk the ability to brainwash their constituencies is playing with satanic fire. Some of the quotes and video clips coming from these Tea Party candidates make an individual wonder what planet they’ve been living on from their birth.

The issue of Americans not voting in all elections has long been a problem in this country. Perhaps, it’s one of the many reasons why we find ourselves in the predicament we do regarding our incomparable debt and severe malfunctions in our electoral, educational, judicial, and health systems.

November 2nd is a day where all Americans who truly care about the future of our country can take a stand against these heinous characters posing as governmental officials and vote for the senatorial and house candidates who want to progress the United States to greater days and not regress to fall victim to our own greed.

The very fact these people have named themselves after a movement in the late 18th Century is laughable on its face. They have nothing in common with a group of revolutionaries who were seeking to gain independence from a colonial powerhouse. These folks are delusional and need to be given a reality check and this can only happen if the people who truly love the United States get out and vote in record numbers akin to the 2008 Presidential election. For too long we’ve taken for granted our right to vote when our ancestors fought so valiantly for this very right.

The Tea Party reeks of racism and it’s evident when they’ve called black Congressmen the N-word and have spat on them among painting President Obama’s face to match Adolf Hitler’s and calling him a socialist. Their supporters have come to their rallies with stuffed monkey animals calling it ‘Obama’ and there are numerous examples citing this type of incorrigible, virulent behavior. One of the underlying tones to this movement is the white men and women involved in it are uncomfortable in seeing a black man as their Commander-in-Chief. Another underlying tone is that many of them are scared to death when they envision a country where there are more people of color in it and in positions of power.

Many Tea Party slogans over the past two years has been ‘I Want My Country Back’ – and that’s code language for if it ain’t white, it ain’t right. There is no coincidence that all the Tea Party candidates are running under the Republican Party affiliation. The facts are there to see if people open their eyes.

Not to sound like a broken record, but the importance of voting is paramount in this 2010 election cycle because if Americans choose to stay at home once again the future of United States will be bleak and history that we want no part of will be made.

Did you vote today?

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