Democracy Depends on Voting

"A republic, if you can keep it." -- Benjamin Franklin

   That was the immediate response when someone asked what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had organized in 1787.
   By definition, a pure democracy is unworkable except in small city-states where every citizen participates directly in the work of government. The term originated in ancient Greece, where citizens had the available time and resources to take part in discussions of every issue. However, voting rights were limited to men. Women could not participate, and almost all work was done by slaves, who were not citizens.
   Even in 18th Century America, when the Constitution was written, voting rights were reserved for white male property owners. It wasn't until the 20th Century that women gained the right to vote. And it took many years before blacks in America, who were officially freed from slavery at the time of the Civil War, could exercise fully the rights of citizenship, including voting. Even today, there are many efforts to stifle these rights.
   Therefore, constant vigilance is needed to preserve and protect the rights of citizenship, and the best way to exercise that vigilance is through voting. 
   Citizens do this in order to preserve and protect "a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity."
   So says the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States of America.
   But by neglecting to vote, by failing to participate in the hard-won rights and privileges of this democratic republic, citizens put in danger the very rights and privileges they say they cherish.
   America is not a pure democracy in the original sense of the word, since not every citizen can participate directly in government. Instead, we elect representatives to do the work of government for us. In that sense, America is a republic, as Franklin rightly noted. Moreover, it is a democratic republic, since citizens select among candidates for government offices.
   So to insure domestic tranquility, it's important to choose representatives best able to do the job entrusted to them.
   Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, is the day for American citizen-voters to make that choice. This year, many say the choice is difficult, and some will decide the choice will be too difficult, or they dislike the choices, so they will not participate.
   That, however, is to abandon the right and privilege of citizenship. If you don't vote, you lose the right to complain about the result. As it is, many are already complaining.
   These complainers may be among the many registered voters who take no action on Election Day. Historically, some 60 percent of registered voters -- give or take a few points -- actually participate in the process of electing a President.
   The choice this year may not be clear, and for many very difficult to make. All the more reason to act.