The American Voter Countdown

The American voter countdown continues. Are you going to be part of the process? Are you plugged in? Are you doing your due diligence? Well, you may not want to be part of it, but the American people depend on you. We depend on each other!

CountdownDid you know that every American has a voter score? The big companies have access to the voter score database, and they want to know whether you voted or not. In fact, they can track your participation in the last four elections and know which party you are affiliated with. So you can imagine how they might use this information. For example, they might send you special mailers to get you to participate, or send volunteers to knock on your door for a more personal touch. One of their goals is to find out why you don’t insist on your right to vote, and if possible, to get you to change. They might even avoid you altogether because you aren’t a threat to the “current system.”

I also want to know why you don’t vote. Is it because you have lost faith in the system? Is it that you just can’t stand the way the system works? Do you think it’s corrupt? Or are you too busy and don’t want to be bothered?

But let me ask you something. What if your rights were taken suddenly taken away, or they were slowly chipped away? What if 10 years from now you don’t have the same rights, freedoms and liberties? If you knew that your vote could help retain those rights, freedoms and liberties, would you vote?

As Americans, we need to demand good service from our elected officials who work for us. Why is it that we demand good service at the burger joint or the department store when a product isn’t what we ordered, but then we don’t say a word or raise our voices when laws are broken or we sense an injustice? Isn’t our Country worth fighting for? Do we or don’t we support our troops? Then why don’t we watch over our Country and our leaders to confirm they are doing the right thing?

We can’t forget that our nation has haters! These haters don’t want us to have these rights under the U.S. Constitution—the rights offered to us by God and the Declaration by our Founding Fathers. The haters know that they can erode our political system if we Americans don’t appreciate our rights, if we don’t use them, and if we don’t fight to keep them.

This year, I’m asking you to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. If you have not registered to vote, then start there! If you are registered, then vote and vote completely! Now is the time to use this voting season as a teaching moment: for our kids, for our friends, for our fellow workers. It is time to have a respectful, passionate conversation. It is time to explore the possibilities and ask lots of questions. It is time to think long term, not short term. It is time to think about the legacy we will leave to our children. Stand up and be counted.

The following is a quote from a speech by Ronald Reagan in 1961 as he spoke about socialized medicine: “Until, one day, as Normal Thomas said we will awake to find that we have socialism. And if you don’t do this and if I don’t do it, one of these days you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children, what it once was like in America when men were free.”

The Patriotic Duty of Voting

My family taught me that it was my absolutely responsibility to vote and made sure I understood that voting was not only my duty, but an honor and a privilege. I guess you could say they were patriots. When I was young, my teachers also promoted the American way because every morning they would instruct students to stand up, hold their hands over their hearts and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I loved that. I wasn’t just speaking empty words, I was literally pledging my allegiance to the flag of the United States of America! I believed we were one nation, under God, and indivisible.

So of course I would join the Boy Scouts where the flag was saluted and honored at each meeting. The Scouting program helped to solidify my American values through the teachings of American history, outdoorsmanship, character building, leadership and in serving the community. I wore the uniform proudly with an increasing array of well-earned merit badges. I participated in the Honor Guard and ultimately became an Eagle Scout, the highest rank achievable in the Boy Scouts of America.

So of course I have voted in every election since it was legal for me to do so. I enjoy the process and can feel my passion increase as I listen to the debates, or read about the candidates, or hear about them on the news and discuss politics on my radio show. I admit that I get upset with political shenanigans and especially the lies, twisted truths and the false narratives from the left. But ultimately, I am an American patriot. This year, like every year, I will sit down with my pencil and darken the circles of my choice. I will vote. And I will continue to salute the flag and pledge my allegiance to the United States of America. How about you?

To learn more about what goes on in Craig’s world, listen in to the Sunrise Show on News Radio 880 KCMX, follow me on Facebook or Twitter, and join me in my “Craig the Vote” campaign.