Our Greatest Right

There seems to be an endless list of political hot buttons that automatically drive us into one camp or the other. Most of these divisive issues leave no space anymore for common ground. There is however, one subject that we as Americans should ALL be able to agree on. It is the the cornerstone upon which our republic is built and for which so much blood has been spilled.

I'm speaking of our right to vote. I would defy anyone, Democrat, or Republican, to argue that there was anything else more fundamental to the establishment of our country than the right to a representative government. The original Tea Party members knew this. Their demonstrations and protestations of "No taxation without representation" set the stage for what was to follow, and their rally cry became the spark for a revolution and the birth of a new nation. In those formative times the very act of voting was looked upon as more than a right. It was also a duty, an obligation to participate in the development of a fledgling nation based upon the idea that people could self-govern even when the government was made up of a diverse collection of independent colonies.

Over the years we have stumbled in the maintenance of our Republic. Slavery brought with it, not only an immoral period of darkness which tarnished the very words of the Constitution, but exposed the hypocrisy of country born of representative government. Redemption came in the form of another, internal, revolution. A civil war that was in large part a desire for a people to have a say in their own destiny. A war that ultimately, again affirmed the right of every citizen's voice to be heard.

At this point I would find it hard to believe that any patriotic American would disagree with these words, for these are the truths which make us who we are. I would also speculate that all of us believe that when we exercise our right to vote we become a stronger nation, and conversely, by sitting idle and  not casting our ballot, we are shirking our responsibility as citizens.

So how is it that the very tool which built our nation is being dulled through initiatives designed to reduce voter turn-out? Under the guise of budget cuts, voter fraud, purging of voter records, and other insidious means millions of people are becoming disenfranchised across America. Unsubstantiated accusations of voter fraud top the list of justification for laws that have been effective in limiting voter turn-out despite repeated research proving fraud in U.S. elections is so insignificant that it is all but immeasurable. What can be measured with high accuracy is the number of citizens who have had their most important right taken away. How can anyone who claims to love this country, and the foundation from which it is based, sit idle and allow this mockery of our Constitution to continue.

Whenever the people of this nation have felt their ability to self-govern was threatened they fought back. The inevitable fight we face may not be a bloody one, but will result in a pendulous swing to the opposite ideological pole. A place which can be just as destructive when ruled by people motivated by revenge.