Never stop beating the drum!
Until everyone hears you
(scottishpipeanddrummng.com)
"You're wasting your time!" "No one cares!" "My vote does not count." "No one will come!" "Quit the fight - the 'good-ole-boy' system always wins." I have heard them all AND, I reject them all. I will never quit beating my drum until everyone hears my sound. I will never wave my credentials, but having taught political science for 18 years, I think I understand the basics.
Through the years, I have written many articles on the importance of voting. How every vote counts. How apathy can destroy a community.This story has none of these themes. This story is about rejecting criticism and standing up for what you believe. I believe, to be an informed voter, you need the facts and many opportunities to learn and decide. Then hopefully, decisions will be based on a candidates honesty and integrity, their vision and how they will accomplish their goals, and their level of past involvements and commitments. My beliefs on an educated electorate are strong!
This belief is why I partnered with three other like-minded individuals to organize a city "Meet the Candidate" for our local elections in Clarksburg, West Virginia. With just two weeks to plan, we found a location, contacted each candidate, compiled a format and questions, arranged for refreshments, produced posters, wrote articles for two local newspapers, and advertised through social media. All done with a zero budget!. We were 'playing with one brain' and collectively rejected the negative comments in my opening paragraph.
I heard negativity from business people, appointed and elected officials, "Your wasting your time. No one will show up. We've tried this before and the only people who come are relatives. We usually have more candidates than audience." I cannot speak for the other three organizers, but what I saw at our hastily organized "Meet and Greet" was the polar opposite of these negative comments.
We felt it necessary to provide an opportunity for voters to learn, study, and question.Reading a candidate's profile in the newspaper is one step, but the stairway to becoming an informed voter has many steps. The host for our event was the Harrison County Senior Citizens Center. We invited all 10 candidates for fours seats on City Council and the three candidates for two seats on the Water Board. Every candidate attended but one - a Council candidate. It was not a debate. Each made opening statements, answered prepared questions which they were given ahead of time to research, and made closing statements. At the conclusion, the candidates dispersed throughout the room so attendees could ask individual questions.
The event was a major success, judged by previous attempts in past elections. We had 51 citizens attend.Two television stations were there, one provided live streaming, and one newspaper was represented. The audience was attentive and respectful of each candidates positions on the issues.
At the conclusion of the evening, several people came to me and conveyed their appreciation for holding this event. One lady said, "This is the first time I have ever attended something like his. Thank you. I learned so much." One man said," Well, I know who I am not voting for. Now, I have to decide on four of five." I stood and observed: People immediately approached the candidates for one- on-one time. This pleased me.
As organizers, we were convinced our community needs more of this type of interaction and learning opportunities. Maybe, just maybe, in the near future, we will be able silence the naysayers. One thing for sure, I will never stop beating my drum, hoping each time, more will hear the message.
Tomorrow is election day. Hear the drums! Now go vote!
And that's the way I see it.
Until next time,
Michael