Voting is not just a right, it's a duty

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Manny Sarmina
  • Air Force Surgeon General Office
BOLLING AIR FORCE BASE, D.C. (AFPN) --  On Sept. 18, 1787, the final day of the constitutional convention, Benjamin Franklin emerged from Independence Hall in Philadelphia into a crowd of curious spectators. The people were eagerly waiting for news of what form of government he and his fellow delegates had created for the young nation.

A woman stepped forward and asked Mr. Franklin, "Well, doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"

Without hesitation, Mr. Franklin replied, "A republic, if you can keep it."

His prophetic reply is just as true today as it was more than 200 years ago.

"We the people" have a sacred obligation to safeguard "for ourselves and our posterity" the blessings of liberty our forefathers fought so hard to achieve. And the most fundamental obligation is the responsibility of every eligible citizen to vote.

This November, many Americans will take part in the democratic process by going to the polls to exercise their right to vote.

Sadly, many more will not. In fact, if this year's election turnout follows historical trends, more than half of the voting-age population will not bother to vote.

At stake this fall are the offices of the president and vice president of the United States, one-third of the seats in the U.S. Senate, the entire House of Representatives, 13 state governorships, and a host of other state and local offices, initiatives and issues.

Judging by voting statistics, "we the people" take our right to vote for granted. But the idea that the people should choose their leaders was once very radical in a world ruled by monarchies and oligarchies.

Enlightened philosophers like John Locke and Thomas Jefferson, however, argued that self-government is a natural right of every person, and that governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed.

Our fundamental belief in the right of self-government, so eloquently expressed in the Declaration of Independence, and achieved by the blood of patriots in the American Revolution and on every battlefield since, is the cornerstone of our American political system. The U.S. Constitution provides the framework through which our political system works, and guarantees each state a "republican form of government," a republic being a political system in which power resides in citizens who are entitled to vote for representatives responsible to them.

Elections, therefore, are a crucial component of our representative democracy.

The right of all citizens to vote, however, did not come automatically, but evolved gradually -- often painfully -- over the course of two centuries.

For example, it is interesting that the person who asked Mr. Franklin what form of government the new nation would have was a woman, because the right to vote did not extend to her. In fact, during the colonial period and early years of our nation, voting was generally restricted to white men who owned property. Other people such as women, blacks, American Indians and even members of certain religious groups could not vote.

The framers of the Constitution could not agree on who should be given the right to vote, so they deferred to the states. The Constitution, therefore, left to each state government the power to decide who could vote. Many of the early battles over the right to vote took place at the state level.

Overall, the struggle to achieve universal suffrage for all Americans was a long, often painful one, attained only by the heroic efforts of many Americans who understood the importance of free elections in a representative democracy.

Today, the right to vote is so universally accepted as our most fundamentally basic of rights that we have forgotten the sacrifices it took to win that right. The struggle for universal suffrage reminds us that those things worth fighting for are also worth remembering, and, more importantly, exercising.

The right to vote is a symbol of our equality and the true source of our liberty. We should never forget what it took to win the right to vote and how important it is to the workings of a free and democratic society.

By voting, you are not only ensuring your voice is heard, you are paying homage to those brave Americans who struggled to win that right for all Americans.

Amid the celebrations for our nation's 228th birthday, let us renew our commitment and pride in our sacred liberties, our governmental institutions and our vibrant political system.

Apathy is never an excuse not to vote. Your vote counts, so make sure it is there to be counted.