Talking is done

Over the past several months, I’ve been writing about how bad the Republicans are, and about how much we need to re-elect President Obama. I’ve made clear why I think that is, how certain issues matter very much to me, and I’ve talked about issues that matter most to the future of the United States. I won’t re-hash any of that, because the time for talking is done.

Many of the people I know in the US have been complaining about this election, how negative it was, how much money was being spent, how many ads there were. No one, , no matter where they may be on the political spectrum, could reasonably disagree with that. To change that, the US needs real reform, including a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United, as well as a complete overhaul of the electoral system. But those are topics for another day. The time for talking is done.

I believe that there is no more sacred duty of a citizen in a democracy than to vote. Nearly all of us have members of our families, however extended or distant, who served, fought or died to preserve the freedoms we so often take for granted. I believe that it dishonours the sacrifices of those family members if we can’t even be bothered to drag ourselves to the polls. Now is the time to vote.

I also believe it’s every citizen’s personal responsibility to become informed—truly informed—about the issues facing us, and the candidates taking sides on them, so that we can cast an informed, valuable vote. The fact that politicians deliberately obfuscate things is irrelevant, and so is the fact that the mainstream newsmedia is pretty hopeless at reporting on issues. Election campaigns are not the same as horse races, and the consequences are far more important. So if politicians and the media don’t help, we need to take responsibility to educate ourselves, and it’s not too late to do so, even now. It’s time to vote—as an informed and engaged person.

Regardless of whether we win or lose tomorrow, I’ll carry on discussing the issues I care about, advocating for justice, equality, fairness and progress. But, I just may take tomorrow off from the blog: There’s already been a lot of talking, after all.

Talking is done. Vote!

Oh, and please vote for President Obama and the Democrats!