The Litmus Test

TransGriot guest post by Dawn Wilson

This election is a litmus test . A simple test of intelligence . What is a litmus test you ask? In the political sense it is a test that uses a single indicator to prompt a decision . So your choices for this test are so simple a kindergartner has the cognitive ability to handle the following question.

The question is what do you value?
If you value Education, you vote.
If you value Civil Rights, you vote.
If you value Health Care, you vote.
If you value the 2nd Amendment, you vote.
If you value Freedom of Religion, you vote.
If you value your community whatever that may entail,  you vote.

Voting is your voice.  Without it, that voice is minimized.

Some candidates are not ideal. Some are evil. But to refuse to engage in a process that can fuel change is imbecilic at best and detrimental and destructive at worst. Some people will vote against their interests and what they value and be shocked with the outcome, while others will vote their values and may not pleased with the outcome .

In either case they have a voice, a strong one and more versed one . Remember Ferguson? In the most recent elections, turnout was just 12% and sadly we see the result. Because people stayed at home and did not vote what they valued, the people who were elected to care for the community, the people who hired the police who act in such a horrible manner, failed . 

And those who failed to vote were the catalyst .

Now new voter registration numbers suggest that the Michael Brown shooting has kindled a new sense of civic engagement among many Ferguson, MO residents.  More than 3,000 people in the Missouri city of 21,000 have registered to vote. That represents a increase of more than 25 percent in voter registration in just two months. Total voters registered in Ferguson are now 14,428 as of mid-day Thursday, and still rising, according to the St. Louis County Board of Elections.

So voting doesn't matter?  Local, state and national elections are a joke? The events over the last few months should dispel that notion. Out of 31 democratic countries, the United States has the lowest voter turnout numbers. Racism, economics, and Voter ID laws all affect voting, but even with these obstacles voting is our best chance to change the future.

Even the Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr was quite aware of the power of voting as a catalyst for
change.

"One of the most basic weapons in the fight for social justice will be the cumulative political power of the Negro. I can foresee the Negro vote becoming consistently the decisive vote in national elections.'"

So here is your test – A. Vote for what you value   B. Vote against your interest C. Don't Vote and be silenced . Test day is November 4th . Good luck.