Voting ‘essential to living in a democracy’

In this crazy time when thousands are at risk of losing their right to vote, I have been thinking about how I would feel if I lost my right to vote. How would I feel? Invisible! Forgotten! Desperate! Would the people elected to be my mayor, legislative council representatives, state and federal legislators, governor and president care about my access to basic human right protections? Would they care about the environment and my quality of life — access to clean safe water, breathable air, our need for a healthy treescape, the safety of my neighborhood? Would they act to protect my right to speak at public meetings? Would I receive the same protections that everyone else I work with receive?

What if I had to just hope and pray that someone who didn’t care about me because of my religion, sexual orientation or color of my skin was not elected? What if I couldn’t participate in choosing who should make decisions about my child’s education or what kind of gun laws we should have or decisions about my reproductive rights and access to affordable health care? What if my legislators didn’t care about my views on taxes, climate change, immigration or war and peace? What if newspapers were pressured not to report on the issues important to me and my family? How would I feel? Angry! Unbelievably in 2017, in the United State of America, my right to vote is not guaranteed. In this time when voting rights are at risk in so many states, I feel fortunate to live in a state where my rights are secure, at least for now. It is more important than ever that we not take our right to vote for granted. Deciding not to vote does not absolve us of responsibility for the results of the vote, whatever those results may be. Why should we feel compelled to register and vote? Because it is essential to living in a democracy. Act to protect your rights. Register to vote before Election Day and vote this Nov. 7.

Democracy is not a spectator sport. — Diane Hoffman, Hamden