(Day6) Thankful for....

Living in a democratic Country!

I am so grateful that I live in the United States of America, a democratic nation that gives me the right to vote! I am grateful that we have the ability to have a say in who will lead us both locally, at the state and at the Federal level. I strongly believe that if we choose not to exercise our agency in this one small way that one day we will find ourselves wondering how our town, state, and country got to a place that we no longer recognize or want to live. There is much in our world that we cannot control, that we have no say in, that cause us daily shock and dismay. However if we do not stand up and speak up at this very basic level we will come to the moment when our voices range among the vocal minority and simply are not heard any more.

I appreciate Elder Dallin H. Oak's thoughts on this topic, in a recent address delivered to the students of BYU on the "Threat of Our "Religious Freedom".

An excerpt from "The Mormon Ethic of Civility":

The political world is astir. Economies are faltering. Public trust is waning. Individuals feel vulnerable. And social cohesion wears thin. Meanwhile, stories of rage and agitation fill our airwaves, streets and town halls. Where are the voices of balance and moderation in these extreme times? During a recent address given in an interfaith setting, Church President Thomas S. Monson declared: "When a spirit of goodwill prompts our thinking and when united effort goes to work on a common problem, the results can be most gratifying." Further, former Church President Gordon B. Hinckley once said that living “together in communities with respect and concern one for another” is “the hallmark of civilization.” That hallmark is under increasing threat.

You can read the entire commentary, here: The Mormon Ethic of Civility

I am grateful for the founding fathers of our country who recognized how important it was to have a country that allowed each and every adult citizen the right and responsibility to steer the course of our nation. I am also grateful to those who took time out of their day last Tuesday to go to the polls and vote.

PostScript--I was happy to see that my precinct had a little over 3 times the voter turn out for the general election than voted in the Primary election. However I am saddened that this was still less than 10% of those registered to vote. I am trying to be happy with small changes and to any of you who did go and vote I am grateful that you added your voice to mine in speaking up for who our local leaders should be for the coming years.

Please Stand Up and Let YOUR Vote Count

The day is fast approaching for all of us to let our voices be heard through our vote. If you live in Logan City you can go here to see which candidates won the primary. If you click on their names it will share a bit more about them. Most of the candidates have a website listed where you can go and read a bit more about their views and reasons for running for City Council. I would especially urge you to consider whether you want candidates in office who have a website "Coming Soon" less than 2 weeks from election day.

Additionally there are several debates scheduled for this week:

Municipal Council at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Taggart Student Center on the Utah State University campus.

Municipal Council at 7 p.m. Thursday at Logan City Hall, 290 N. 100 West.

Mayor at 8 p.m. Thursday at Logan City Hall, 290 N. 100 West.

Mayor at 12:30 p.m. Friday at the Taggart Student Center on the USU campus.

But really, I don't care WHO you vote for....please just vote. As much as I like my vote to speak for over 20 people who chose to not vote, I would be so much happier if they would choose to speak up and let their will help to steer our way.

If you live somewhere else in the great state of Utah go here to find out where your polling site is and view a sample ballot.

If you live somewhere else in our great nation take a minute, do a search and find out a bit about the candidates and your local issues but please

GET OUT AND VOTE TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2009!

Civic Duty? Who is making decisions for you?

Today was the day for our Municipal Primary Elections. So amidst the multitude of questions from my inquisitive Comedian (who found nothing funny about putting his shoes back on and heading out the door without watching Dinosaur Train) we headed off to the polls for our precinct.

When we arrived and followed the bright pink arrows to the doors where the polls were set up, we found the room startlingly barren. Inside were two local ladies (the election judges, I think they are called officially), the boys, and myself. I was quite startled to learn that I was only the 17th person who had voted from our precinct so far, upon further conversation I learned that the election judges had set a goal for themselves to have 20 people vote. I was quite stunned! So I did some research and in the process learned there are 1,303 registered voters in my polling district.

So if every registered voter in my polling district were to vote in this election, my vote would make up roughly .08 % of the final outcome. However when my husband stopped by the same polling site thirty minutes before the polls closed he was the 54th person to vote from our precinct. Thus my one vote now makes up 2% of the final outcome.

My vote now has much more weight and will have a greater influence upon the outcome of the election. My question to you is....Who are you letting make your decisions in government?

I am very passionate about having a voice in government. Our constitution uniquely provides each one of us the opportunity to have a say in the direction our cities, counties, states and country goes forward in through our right to vote. Many people think that primary elections are not important or worth wasting their time on. Today's vote will shape who is available to vote for in a few months and that can have a huge impact! Please, if you did not vote in the Primary's begin educating yourself now! Make a commitment to vote in November's elections. Your voice counts for so much more than you think!