The Homestretch
Deborah Venable
November 4, 2006
I
can safely say that this election cycle has produced some of the nastiest moments
in American political history. The end
of this race is definitely one of the most eagerly anticipated events for all
parties concerned as well as the political war weary public. No matter how it comes out, I’ll bet there
will be a number of prayers said at Thanksgiving tables all over America –
thanking God for our survival after the last few months.
Voters
have been served a very expensive diet of propaganda laced with empty promises
and deadly threats in attempts not only to win votes but also to coerce the act
of voting out of an all too often apathetic citizenry. So, of course it was an especially ugly
election cycle. The result has been
more confusion in the minds of more voters than ever before. Even the usually accurate predictors wouldn’t
bet a plug nickel on the eventual outcome, because waiting in the wings is that
all too familiar accusation of election fraud.
I’ve
heard people who are usually certain about their choices intimate
uncertainty. The problem stems from the
fact that the results of this election will not be measured in the quality of
the individuals winning it, but instead by the power bestowed on the majority
party. It is an election of The Party. I can already hear some saying that it has
always been that way – this is no different.
Well, this time I believe there IS a big difference.
Never
before has America had such a universal enemy rooting for the victory of one of
our political parties over the other in a midterm election. That speaks volumes to the importance and
the difference of this election. We
Americans are about to define how we intend to handle our enemies in the next
two years and how much we value our own heritage. The answer will ring out loud and clear to our enemies, foreign
and domestic, personified in the Party of Power.
It’s
too bad that we can’t base our decisions on the character of individuals
because I am certain that there are more eligible characters to represent us
that never made the Party Cut. That is
far more evident in local races – but true in the national scene as well. But, casting a vote for individuals who have
no chance of winning is the equivalent of casting away our privilege of voting
altogether.
As
my 16-year-old son so eloquently put it, and I quoted him on the last Under
the Wolf
section, “Too many people think that a vote is to make a statement. It’s not – it’s to make a DECISION.”
We
can’t afford to make “statements” with our votes this time. We must make a decision that will direct
this country for the next two years. If
we want to make statements that will be heard, the time to do that is BETWEEN
election cycles. That is when we stay
in contact with the party and individuals we put into power and let them feel
the heavy hand of our influence. That
is when we demand that the parties give us better and better characters to
elect in the future. That is when we
demand that the party platforms be shored up and defined to each and every
person who would wear the party label.
That is when we prove that we are not apathetic and that we DO care
about the representation we receive from the individuals we elect.
We
are in the homestretch of this race, and ALL the runners are crippled, and all
of them have overindulged on the bounties of their campaign “war chests” so
they are panting and out of breath from glut.
But there will be a winner. One
of them is either made of a little better stuff – or has been popping a little
more steroid – just enough to barely make it to the finish line. We can’t afford to let the winner rest on
its laurels once the race has been won, and it might be a good idea to say a
little prayer that the next race will be a little cleaner than this one has
been. That is – if we care at all.