I have sent the following as a letter to the editor of the Shawnee Dispatch. If it gets published then hopefully more folks than those who read this blog will read it:
The voters of Ward 3 in Shawnee should be ashamed of themselves regrding the recent primary election.
Not because of the outcome, but because of their total, apathetic attitude.
The ward has approximately 11,000 voters registered and only 839 bothered to vote. That is less than 8% voter turn out.
Oh, they turn out for the presidential election......big darn deal. The president doesn't fix your pot holes, plow your streets, provide you with police and fire protection. The president doesn't set local property taxes, zoning laws and a host of other items that affect us daily.
The really sad part is that it is so much easier to vote in elections now than years ago. There is early physcial voting. There are mail in ballots (and you don't have to be disabled to obtain one).
Voting in an election allows a person to voice their opinion on what they want done in their community. Sitting on their collective rear ends and not voting is a relinquishment of that privilege and shows a willingness to accept whatever is thrown their way.
Too many of America's finest have continuously given of themselves to maintain the privilege of voting.To sit on your butts and not do so is an insult to them.
