The background: Today, during an enthusiastic meeting with fellow League of Women Voters leadership team members about our new project (We Vote), a man interrupted to ask if we are always so excitable at 7:30 in the morning. “This is what happens when women get the vote,” he laughed. He meant nothing rude by it–if anything, he seemed genuinely baffled by how we really could be so excited. I’ve been thinking about him today, thinking about others like him, and wondering about the excitement and potential of voting.
I’m young enough to still be reasonably idealistic, but grounded enough to think about change in terms of measurable, sustainable action. Because of this, I tend to be passionate in principle: the talent of youth can do so much for our communities, our home is something to be proud of, our economy can be reinvented… and I tend to be grounded in action: We should offer and promote incentives for young people to buy houses in the city. We can shop at stores owned by our community members. We should invest in educational opportunities that support the growth of a knowledge-based economy.
Over the last year, I’ve come to appreciate that there is a spot where idealism and action intersect. And it’s simple: voting.
Maybe it’s so simple that it still comes across as idealistic, but I really do believe that voting possesses a sacred spot in the underpinnings of our communities. As I think about this, I realize that I intentionally do not even say the underpinnings of our democracy.
Yes, voting is a function of democracy. But taken one step further, democracy extends voting as a tool in community building. Democracy does not establish communities–people do. And one of the most fundamental ways to do that is through voting.
Voting is personal action on the one hand and collective idealism at the same time. As a voter, I make a personal decision and offer a concrete, individual action. Yet in a collective sense, voting captures the sentiments and hopes of a community and propels them in an actionable way, for change. We can learn a lot about the pride and hope in a community by understanding whether or not its members vote and why… and we can achieve action by voicing that hope–however idealistic–through voting.
It’s the difference between wishing my neighborhood was a safer place for kids (idealism) and going to the polls to vote for someone who has promised to advocate for after-school programming in the neighborhood (idealism paired with action).
If you can’t tell, I’m adamant that our community has to be a voting community. I don’t care how it votes… it’s just important that it does vote. Of course, there are issues of access, trust, quality of information and more. I may be idealistic, but I am not naive… our voting system needs support and more community members who want to preserve its integrity.
I guess I offer all this if only for the sake of exploration… and to make a case for an enhanced perception of voting. Voting should be a celebration of our communities and their futures, and Election Day should be viewed as our community’s big holiday. Voting is like a social marketing campaign rather than a political campaign… it is action that belongs to the community, and it is hope voiced… it’s so much more than a transaction.
All easier said than accomplished. And I start with wondering how can I communicate that the next time someone wonders why we’re all so excited.
I had all of these pithy things to say. Intellectual. Intelligent, even. But I am reduced to the following:
Amen, sister.