Remember to Vote

Remember politics from years past? I do try to stay clear of any mention of politics or religion in my articles, but I cannot believe how much I have learned about our election process in just this last year.

Do I not remember correctly (that is a distinct possibility)? I don’t recall learning about the many fine points or potential means of selecting a candidate to run for President. I do remember those classes in junior high and high school, and my perception at the time was that all U.S. citizens had the honored privilege and duty to vote. I will admit that the average citizen did not have access to all of the pros and cons of party affiliation, nor candidate promises, so maybe going to the polls was also a social outing.

With the lack of the media outlets we now have, campaigning must have been a lot different. Can you visualize Mom and Dad seated around the radio listening to the latest campaign speech?

Has the constant stream of “he said, she said” caused indifference in our young generation? I am really amazed that so many of our young voters will admit that they have no idea of what the major issues of this election are, nor even who the candidates are. However, I will acknowledge this year is the first year I have really understood the difference between a caucus and a primary. I am also more intensely aware of how little input our rural states have in primary elections. According to media, the primary is all but decided and Montana does not vote until June. I guess the upside of voting in June is that it allows us to vote in the November election.