Vote your conscience. But please vote.

“I am not a member of an organized party; I’m a Democrat.” - Will Rogers I too am a Democrat. 

In Texas. More the FDR/New Deal kind, less the Bernie Sanders kind. The herd has been thin for a number of years, although reports say it is on the rebound. Regardless of the prognosis of the Democratic party, or political beliefs in general, the 2018 primary election season is almost upon us. To that end, let me explain myself.

About 20 years ago I decided that in Texas I had to vote in the Republican primary if I wanted to have a say in my federal, state, and local government. The purpose of the primary election was to make sure that We the People had a say in our candidates, not some political party big-wig. So I vote in the Republican primary because I accept that in Texas, a Republican is likely - very likely - to win the general election. Since I vote Democrat in the general election, the primary is where I have my say for my political leaders. To that end, I voted against Rick Perry every chance I got, even when he was just running as the head of the Texas Department of Agriculture, before his ascendancy as erstwhile presidential candidate and to head the U.S. Department of Energy.

If I were writing a joke, I’d say I voted against him on Dancing with the Stars except I don’t watch DWTS. I am generally not a fan of contest shows, especially those that make light of the privilege of voting. DWTS (and the other shows) make it worse by the incessant advertising and media attention as well as having 3 seasons in one 12 month period. The familiarity breeds apathy. And apathy itself is a type of vote. Not for or against a dance team or singer or even candidate, but against the institution itself. In the case of Rick Perry on DWTS, apathy against the TV show meant I broke my pattern of voting against ol’ Rick every chance I got. He didn’t win thankfully, but he got farther along than anyone could have imagined.

If we accept that apathy is a vote against an institution, then what does it mean to not vote in the primaries? Plato said that “The price of apathy is to be ruled by evil men.” It is hard to remember that when the media inundates with politics at a frenetic pace. Social media, fake news, and Twitter are just a part of the informal media where stories get shared virally. (And what a great description that is.) But it is also the stunt by ESPN giving Kaitin Jenner the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. I mean, frankly, be poor, trans, and in a conservative state instead of famous and rich if you want courage. It was a publicity stunt to generate headlines for a sports network that is becoming irrelevant. Or at the other end of the spectrum, let’s look at Fox News. Fox portrays fellow Americans as The Enemy of the state. Forget that whole Bill of Rights thing as they suffocate you with an American flag. Or terrify you with alarming chyrons. There is also Rachel Maddow’s play about Trump’s tax return that was a big nothing-burger. So like DWTS, the media has bred contempt with familiarity making it easy to be apathetic about politics in general.

However, here is the rub: apathy is a vote against an institution so if we are apathetic when it comes to our government then we don’t want a say in our government. And, about 100 years ago our government began to have primary elections where we the people got to choose the candidates for a general election. Then we get to vote in the general election. The idea here is to have, as Lincoln stated, “A government of the people, by the people, and for the people [that] will never perish from the earth.” James Madison’s Federalist 10 expressed a healthy concern for pure democracy and how factions (political parties) can manipulate voters’ passions, hence the idea of a two-tier representative democracy. We vote in primaries, then again in the general election for representatives who are supposed to represent the interests of their constituents. The idea is to do the most good for the most people. However, this only works if we the people actually care about voting at every step of the process. If we let the apathy get the better of us then we get left with two bad choices and disdain for the proud Republic of the United States.

George Washington stated in his Farewell Address: “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.” This is the true danger of apathy. We must be on guard against it. Our ancestors fought to preserve the very system that allows us to vote. We as individuals, our children, our parents, our grandparents have served to defend these very freedoms. We OWE it to them to get out and vote every chance we get, every election. Every. Single. Election. Primary. Local. State. Federal. Whether we like the candidates or not. Whether we feel represented. Whether we totally agree. And we are “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity….” It is our privilege. It is our right. It is our responsibility.

The 2018 Texas primary season is upon us. March 6, 2018 is Primary Election Day. The last day to register to vote is February 5, 2018. You can apply for a mail-in ballot until February 23, 2018. Early voting will run February 20-March 2, 2018.

Vote your conscience. But please vote.