You have no excuses, vote in this election

STAFF EDITORIAL

It is likely that by now your planners, PDAs, and calendars are all chock-full of important dates. Fortunately, we’re here to tell you that there is only one date that matters.

On Nov. 4, 2008, the United States of America will take to the voting booth to decide one of, if not the, most important election in its 232 years. Whether you consider yourself a Democrat, Republican, independent or none of the above, Nov. 4 is the day to put up or shut up.

If you are over the age of 18, it is imperative that you get registered to exercise your right as an American and choose our next president. If you haven’t registered yet, the good news is that you have until 5 p.m. on Oct. 6 to do so.

It is not our intention to sound like a broken record, but the statistics speak to the importance of the matter. After the 2004 election, The Committee for the Study of the American Electorate reported the highest voter turnout since 1968 – that’s the good news. The bad news? That “whopping” total was 60.7 percent of eligible citizens of voting age.

The right to vote has been taken for granted in this country, no doubt because of how far removed we are from having that right threatened. We cannot fathom an American without this right and that’s where the complacency sets in.

It’s very easy for us to sit back and assume that our votes don’t really matter. You may think to yourself, “So many millions of people cast their vote, what difference does mine really make in the long run?” Well, if the statistics from the last election are any indication, over a third of eligible voters in the United States thought the same thing.

Do the math and that equates to about 70 million votes uncounted – and, remember, this election was hailed as a turnout success. A number like that can change an election; so, yes, your vote does matter.

But simply registering then casting a vote is not enough. If you haven’t been following the election race, or if you tuned out for an extended period of time, now is the time for a cram session.

Thankfully, network news will oblige by broadcasting four debates from now until the election. Here at The Oakland Post, we will be blogging live during the first debate this Friday night at www.oaklandpostonline.com. Though the debates will only feature the two big party candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, the debates can act as a great source of information and, for most of us, as intimate of a look as we will get of the front-runners.

However, just watching the debates is not enough. Do your homework. Find out what you feel will matter the most in the next four years and research where the candidates stand. Do your best to steer clear of the career talking heads – easier said than done – and focus more on what you think. Educate yourself, then make your decision. Maybe you’ll surprise yourself.

But you will never know unless you make the effort. In our hot-and-ready, ADD pop culture world, where we increasingly demand instant access and even faster results, it’s almost outside of our nature to do the leg work.

Suck it up. This election is too important to take the easy way out. The stakes are too high for us to do what everyone else is doing.

Every day our news is littered with election talking points. But don’t let the rhetoric fool you, the issues are more like emergencies: The housing crisis, the energy crisis, the national deficit, our troops overseas, fraying international relations. Our next president has to fix them all. And guess what? We decide who the person will be.

So let’s make this one count. Let’s all circle November 4.