Michael Swickard: Don’t vote unless you care

This is a guest column submitted by radio talk show host Michael Swickard that takes an unusual stance. Tell us what you think by submitting a comment after you read it.

© 2006 Michael Swickard, Ph.D.

The election this year has felt like going to the dentist and having the same tooth filled every day for a whole year. As a talk radio host I am attuned to the political winds, but I have not enjoyed this year. In fact, I have been more offended and troubled with this election than any other. This year has brought out the worst in us Americans rather than the best. We, the people, have concentrated on the personal trivia of candidates and the untrue about them. We have not had an authentic dialog about our country’s needs. We have had a flood of sound bites.

I started watching elections when Kennedy and Nixon ran. I was just a kid. Then there was Goldwater Johnson. On election night we finally had a television that I got to stay up and watch. On the Nixon Humphrey election night I was a freshman in college and sat in the lobby of the dorm watching television and wondering what the future would bring. My first chance to vote was Nixon McGovern.

Somewhere in a box I have an “I like Ike” button that represents one of the high points of my political life. Ike was admired by my Mom and Dad so I admired him, too.

Some of the people I have the most respect for are politicians. Sadly, they a too few and far between. Elections are like West Point, about character and integrity. The service academies concentrate on character development and personal integrity. Our elections should, too.

We have spent quite a bit of time on what swag the politicians will bring to the home district. How sad. Buying me with my brother’s money, or vice versa. We Americans have spent our time trying to help the terrorists win their battles over us, because if they win, our politicians can make hay of that loss by their fellow American politicians. I feel physically ill at the moral corruption of taking the terrorists’ side so as to wrestle control of congress from those other politicians. It is more than being in bed with the terrorists, it is sharpening the sword they use to decapitate innocent victims.

We do not really know what challenges our next crop of leaders will face. This election is not about solutions to things that have already happened. It is about the future. We know that people of character and integrity will do better in moments of crisis. We know that there will be chaos and crisis during the next several years. We know that, for the sake of our country, we should not vote Republican or Democrat, we should vote character and integrity.

People are talking about the “Get out the vote” efforts. Personally, I do not care if people vote. If you have to be told to vote, I do not care if you do. If you are just pulling levers for the sake of pulling levers so we can say a higher percentage voted, please do not vote.

We should not spend our time trying to get people registered and to the polls. We should spend our time getting people to care. If they care, they will register and vote. Caring, not voting, makes the democracy.

Every night on the television there is very little about how we are fighting a vicious foe all over the world. Rather, people spend their time on who is dancing with the stars.

What do I hope for this election? I hope people of character and integrity win, regardless of party affiliation. I hope the will of the people triumphs over voter fraud, regardless of who wins. I hope that the next generation of leaders tackles the war on terror, social security, taxes, health care and education with an understanding that political solutions only work for political problems. Never use political solutions for anything else.

After the votes are counted, I hope that the animosity that is so unbecoming of our society is lifted. Vote if you care. If you do not care, please stay home and watch the stars dance.

The Morning Show with Michael Swickard is on from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Mondays through Fridays on KSNM-AM 570 in Las Cruces. Michael’s e-mail address is michael@swickard.com.

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