STATESMAN SOAPBOX: Get out and make a difference
November is upon us and with it another election season. This year’s elections won’t include the sex appeal of a presidential or Senate race, or much at all that would catch the eye of the mainstream media. No, the elections that are nearly upon us will be relatively quiet in the global arena and will feature the local, home-grown heroes, battling for only a few vacant seats on the City Council.
But what do I care, right? I’m just a college student, oblivious and unaffected by the petty dealings of city bureaucrats, right?
Wrong.
Very wrong, actually. It’s this same apathetic mentality toward local politics (and, let’s face it, politics in general) that have plagued the collegiate assembly for far too long. It’s time we stood up and did something about this painfully true stereotype.
As an advocate for voting, joined by others such as George Washington, John F. Kennedy and Oprah, I’ve heard all the typical excuses that deter the average college student from getting involved in the political process of the democratic society their forefathers died for, so let me put a few of them to rest.
1. Many use the excuse that they’re not from Logan and are therefore detached from the city itself and any obligations or proceedings that may fall upon its citizens. Well, to be brutally frank, that’s stupid. You live here don’t you? You drink the water, ride the buses, breathe the air and drive the roads of this fine city for at least eight months out of the year, and you’re trying to tell me you’re not directly affected by the municipal process?
2. Many use the excuse that commonly defiles our democracy, the notion that their helpless singular vote can’t honestly matter, especially in Utah. Albeit true that our state has been more comfortable with its right hand than its left, no one can look back at the precious last two presidential elections and say in sobriety that one vote doesn’t count. Plus, municipal elections are nonpartisan. So don’t think in red or blue. How do you think Republicans Rudy Guiliani and Michael Bloomberg became mayors of one of the most liberal cities in America?
3. “I don’t know where. I don’t know how.” I love this excuse, perhaps because it’s the biggest target for mockery. Voter registration locations vary every year but are always abundant. You can register on campus, at local churches and, of course, at the city office buildings located downtown at the corner of 200 N. and Main.
I understand that many – if not most – of us plan on leaving this beautiful little valley one day. We have dreams of wealth and Hollywood and making babies that will inevitably remove us from this fine town, if at least for a season. But hey, let’s make the most of this place while we’re here. Let’s get out and vote on Nov. 6 and hold “the man” accountable. Let’s stun the skeptics and start making a difference.