DAY 28 - How Sacred is an Election?

Election Day, tomorrow, Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 is a sacred day.

I am using the word "sacred" here to mean "entitled to reverence and respect"; as found in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary.

We are a fortunate people, to live in a Country of such freedoms! A Country in which each of us has a voice and a vote.

There are those who feel that their votes are meaningless; that they rarely get what they voted for. My response is; if your child called for help, how many times would you stand up to try to help him? Would you stop trying to help? Will you stop trying to help our Country, or will you stand up and vote?

Will you encourage others to vote?

Please note that I have not, and will not be suggesting how you should vote, just the importance of voting.

Finally, what does voting have to do with health? The health of our Nation is dependent on our citizens expressing their views through their votes. And the health of each citizen is powerfully influenced by, if not dependent on the health of our Nation.

DAY 6 – Is the Government to Blame?

*** Please note: a number of individuals have told me that they are enjoying reading my book/blog. Some of them had forgotten, or did not realize that they could opt to “follow” my blog; by signing up to follow my blog, you will receive each blog post directly in your e-mail. To “follow” click the “follow” button on the right side of the screen at the top of the blog. – Today is DAY 6 of the blog and already 4 of you are “followers”. If you find something in a post particularly interesting, please share it with a friend. It would be a delight to have 365 followers at the end of this year and the end of this book! ~ Thank you, Kris ***

I’m not so much into blame these days. But .... if the idea is to do some exploring to try to understand why government and governing are so problematic, then I’m on the job.

As we all learned in school, we the people chose our form of government and we elect the officials who carry out that design. We ARE the government.

Growing up, I got the impression that one was a “good citizen” if he registered and voted. When I reached the age of 21 I started behaving like a “good citizen”.

Unfortunately I made little time to inform myself about local, state or national leaders or issues.

I knew that officials were elected to carry out the wishes of the people. But, apparently I missed the part about we the people communicating with our elected officials to let them know what we desire and expect. Previous to my 50th birthday, I knew of few individuals who had ever met with a city council person, a county supervisor, a state senator, or a member of the US Congress to discuss issues or request action.

In my 50s I began to realize that in the previous 30 years I had been meeting only the most minimal standard for being a “good citizen”. I began to realize that a part of the serious dysfunction of our government was me.

(Note: United States national election in 3 weeks; on Tuesday, November 2nd. What is your role? Are you encouraging others to vote? Are you discussing the issues and candidates with family, friends, co-workers, and people that you meet in the grocery line?)