These days, you can’t even watch a darn YouTube video without a barrage of political ads flying onto your screen and pulsing out of your speakers; they’re kind of like that annoying fly that buzzes around your desk, annoying and unshakable but seemingly innocuous. But this past Monday, an interesting thing happened. I was sitting with friends, all of us obliging our Monday Night Football habit, when the first campaign ad came on. And then another. And another. Finally, the room was boiling. Someone’s kettle began to whistle, “I can’t freakin’ stand these things – I mean who cares about abortion anyway?” What ensued was a debate on the moral dilemmas of abortion and, ultimately, the right to life. I know, it’s hard to believe six recent college grads, just off work, spending their few leisure hours arguing about the essence of a human fetus and its implications to the world at large. But it happened. And it was all thanks to one of those no-good, rotten, biased campaign ads. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should like the commercials, or even that they are good; that is something for
you to decide (Ah, the beauty of democracy). You should, however, pay attention to the issues and the candidates that often avoid them. These factors, in tandem, will create the rules and that we all will have to live by – why not have a say? For instance, how do you feel about recreational marijuana? Well, you should have voted two years ago; it’s not on the ballot this year. For me and my friends, it took a lousy campaign ad to help us remember that we do care, even if it is often easier to watch football and hope for the best. If only we paid as much attention to our governance as we spend devouring highlights on ESPN, maybe congress would have some (highlights). That’s my opinion, what’s yours? If you, like me, are a little behind for this year’s upcoming midterm elections, here is what you need to do:
Register: Seems obvious to most, but you can’t just show up on Election Day. (For Colorado Voters)
- October 14th: last day to register in person. (so you can’t)
- October 27th: last day to register online. Click here
- October 31st: last day to submit an absentee ballot.
- November 4th: Election Day. Voting closes at 7pm local time.
Read Up On The Issues: There is still time – you don’t have to be an expert to have an opinion. Here are a few ways to catch up:
Vote: I can’t help you with this one. It’s on November 4th; hopefully you followed steps 1-2, first.