There have been a lot of responses to my last writing about Government Rule by Implied Helplessness. One response, in particular, pointed to what I was trying to say in a very convincing tone:
The
Declaration of Independence declares:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed.”
The
Virginia Constitution, Article 1, Section 3, declares that “government is, or ought to be, instituted
for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people, nation, or
community… and whenever any government shall be found inadequate or contrary
to these purposes, a majority of the community hath an indubitable, inalienable,
and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it.”
It is clear in these two very important building blocks of government, that the citizens have both a right and a responsibility to carefully evaluate the performance of elected officials.
Regardless of the level of government EVERY decision has strong potential to affect your daily life. That is most clear in local elections.
When government either ignores the will of the people or blatantly refuses to hear the voice of the people, the people have a responsibility to address this and allow government to change. If government refuses to change, then the people have the right to change the government.
It is interesting that out of all the letters and comments I received, only one person was against the idea of letting citizens make a decision of whether or not they wish to have elections held in November rather than May.
Arguments have been made for both positions. The arguments for keeping voting in May have focused on the harm it would cause candidates should elections be moved to November, and how uninformed voters would be picking officials. The arguments for moving the vote to November have focused on the savings to taxpayers, greater involvement of citizens, and more attention to local elections by having more citizens involved.
Regardless of the rationale presented by either side, I hold that it is the right of the citizens to decide whether or not to move the elections. This can happen by people letting their Town Council members know they want the change, or by way of a petition and referendum to force the issue into the public arena where citizens can make their own decisions.
I personally find many of the arguments concerning 'uninformed voters', 'local issues being lost in the noise', etc. fairly offensive. I think that kind of thinking shows a disrespect for the voting citizens of the Town.
People do care about who it is they cast their vote for in Town Council and Mayor elections. They care because these elected officials are the ones who will make decisions about such things as: 1) How safe your neighborhood is. 2) What you pay in taxes on property, sales, meals, etc. 3) Where roads are improved or new roads built. 4) Where new developments are build and how they look. 5) Whether or not you have sidewalks. 6) Whether or not your child has a safe way to ride his/her bike or walk to school. 7) Whether the businesses encouraged to come to Christiansburg pay minimum wage to a lot of part-time people for whom they are not required to provide health care, or well paying jobs with full benefits. 8) The safety of your drinking water. 9) Where parks are located and what facilities are offered. 10) Accessibility to those parks. 11) Whether or not green space is required and then
KEPT in developments. 12) What type of shopping is available to you. 13) What, if any, public transportation is available. 14) What types of cultural facilities are available to you and your children. Etc. Etc.
It took me exactly 4 1/2 minutes to come up with that list of 14 reasons why local government and local elections are important. I would be willing to wager that given more time, I could come up with an even longer list. By choosing not to bother to vote or not taking the time to stringently evaluate who you are casting your vote for, you are giving away your power as a voting citizen. If you are not registered to vote, then these issues must not mean much to you. If these issues do not mean much to you, I will ask you why? I truly do not understand how issues like this can be unimportant to anyone. I do not own property, nor do I have children. But, as a member of this community each of these has great meaning to me because they affect the community as a whole.
Do me a favor and just take a few minutes to think about some of the issues I've mentioned, and others that I may not have, to evaluate their importance to you, your family, your neighbors, and your friends. Think about what is the right thing to do for Christiansburg as a whole.