Bullets and Ballots - Remember Sept 11th

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was home with 3 children as we watched the videos from New York and worried about what’s next. The screen presents fiction more often than facts, so it took awhile to understand the reality of this attack. Meanwhile many had to leave the TV and take care of the day’s work. On that day, election workers were handling Dearborn’s Mayoral Primary. Sometime later I was in the voting booth when my husband called with alarm. He had heard a radio report about rioting in Dearborn and worried about our safety.

The fear from that day has echoed through the years with a patriotic fervor and a decade of war, but I wonder why the pledges of patriotism haven’t produced civic engagement. Voter turnout is embarrassingly low for a nation so proud of its legacy. At great risk others demand a voice in dictatorial nations, while we dismiss our own democratic process.

Proponents of 2nd amendment rights tout the value of a well-armed citizenry to protect against tyranny, but I’d like to call on a well-informed citizenry to practice democracy. Sergeant Molly carried the water and loaded the cannon because she had no other recourse for liberty. Now she has the right to vote so that her first line of defense is the ballot box. Hold the line with this basic right and restore voter turnout as a patriotic duty.

LWV began 90 years ago to arm new voters with information about candidates and issues. Our heritage continues with a busy Voter Service Committee, a League hallmark in our own community for 60 years. Candidates and voters are urged to participate fully in the campaign process and on election day. One vote can sometimes make a difference, but when the majority of potential voters sit it out, do you wonder that a motivated minority gets more of a say? From one election to the next, we have basically told candidates to “call someone who cares”, so they do. What will our city and nation be like 10 years from today if we amped up our fervor for making democracy work at home? Let’s find out.

By Jenni Dunn