Voting: A Right or A Privilege

Is Voting a Right or a Privilege? Some people will say its a right. If that's so then why are the voting rights of inmates and ex-felons revoked? That means that voting is actually a privilege. One that is taken for granted by those who live in our country, but is often envied by those living elsewhere. Just recently I saw a video of a young African-American man in his early twenties. In the video he said he wasn't gonna vote because "his vote didn't make a difference". I was so disappointed to see this young man nonchalantly throw away his right to vote. I thought of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman, who were in their early twenties when they were killed because they were registering people to vote in rural Mississippi. Their deaths prompted the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlaws discriminatory voting practices. Those practices included testing and in most cases bodily harm and death to dissuade African Americans from voting. So it's extremely disheartening to see 43 years after the Act was initially passed, 1 year after it was renewed, and countless numbers of deaths later, that this young man can casually toss aside this hard won privilege. I love the Rock the vote campaign, but I think we need to incorporate lessons on the true sacrifice of those who paved the way for us to-- "Rock the Vote!" The last couple of weeks, I've watched the Presidential debates with my German neighbor. I can't tell you how many times she's expressed the desire to vote in this years election, but unfortunately she can't, (she's not a permanent resident yet). Also Saturday, I got a call that my cousin had given birth, however she's upset that she won't be released in time to vote, (Cesarean). So on behalf of my German friend and my cousin, I'm asking ALL of You to vote!!! Think of those who can't and honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. One more thing while you're there Vote Obama-Biden!!!


Take a minute to look up your polling place on our voting website, VoteForChange.com


~d-the-VIP