Even More Reasons to Vote

Why Vote? Reasons 1,159 - 1,279What do Madeleine Albright, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and the Aboriginal novelist Sam Watson have in common? They all play a part in our next 121 reasons to get out and vote.

\n \n Madeleine Albright \nFormer secretary of state and Georgetown professor1159. It is a way responsible citizens have a voice in the conduct of their nation. It is both a responsibility and a privilege.

1160-1198.

In November, voters in 24 states will have a chance to weigh in on 39 ballot initiatives that can profoundly change their lives-and their freedom. At their best, initiatives represent direct democracy in action; at their worst, they're the special interests' back door to your ballot. Massachusetts, for example, recently passed a measure to end greyhound racing, while in November, Coloradoans decide whether or not to define a fertilized egg as a human being. It doesn't mention abortion; it just classifies doctors who perform abortions as murderers.On these initiatives, deceptive language is common and catchy names are de rigueur. Arizona's "English for the Children," for example, barred Spanish bilingual education; it also ended funding for native-language lessons on Arizona's Indian reservations. But such wordplay is actually aboveboard, as long as the initiative's actual language is attached to the petition. In other words, if you live in one of those 24 states, read the fine print.

\n \nSam Watson, Age 56Aboriginal Australian novelist, playwright, activist, and politician. First voted in 1972, five years after all aboriginals were granted the vote.The truth is, the right to vote doesn't give us any real power in a democratic system. In America, the black vote is very powerful, and they've been able to secure their people into key positions. But in Australia, aboriginal people constitute 2.5 percent of the national population. In 1972, I approached voting with mixed feelings, but we had the option of voting for a new government-an opposition party, led by Gough Whitlam-and he did a great number of things for aboriginal people.But aboriginals still stand as a sovereign people. We have never ceded sovereignty to the British government. Before James Cook came here, on behalf of the British government, this land was occupied and owned and held by more than 800 separate, autonomous nations; reading some proclamation in a foreign language did nothing to extinguish our sovereign rights.

1200. The artist Chris Jordan was able to recreate the masthead of the U.S. Constitution using 83,000 photographs of the tortured and abused prisoners at Abu Ghraib (see it at chrisjordan.com).

1201. You want to refute the wisdom of crowds. Google Trends shows searches for "Obama" far outpace searches for "McCain."

1202. Bear Stearns.

1203. IndyMac.

1204. Fannie Mae.

1205. Freddie Mac.

1206. Lehman Brothers.

1207. Merrill Lynch.

1208. The next one.

1209-1274. Maybe you don't want each of the 66 paid lobbyists that were working for the McCain campaign in March of 2008 to have an influence on his policies.1275. Your grandparents had to hike barefoot in the snow uphill both ways to vote.1276. Unlike the SAT, leaving an answer blank doesn't work to your advantage.1277. You want to call yourself patriotic without being a hypocrite.

\n \n Ben Nighthorse Campbell \nFormer Colorado senator and first Native American to serve in the Senate1278. There have been many times in recorded history when one vote turned the tide. When women's right to vote was ratified throughout America, the last state to ratify it was Tennessee. The vote came down to a tie on two successive votes. On the third try, one state representative changed his mind and decided to vote for it. That one single person's vote gave Tennessee the final ratification to allow women to vote in America.

\n \n"Fuck the vote. Seeing friends wearing Obama shirts reminds me of dorks who were bummed about a lack of enthusiasm at our high school and wanted to ‘Bring the Spirit Back!' Do these people really think McCain is that different from Obama? Conservatives voted for Bush to close borders and get a grip on spending. He blew up the borders and spent more than any president in history. Liberals voted for Clinton to throw money around and were willing to pay the taxes to do it. He spent less than anyone and left us with very conservative-friendly profits. You don't know what you're getting."Gavin McInnes, co-founder of Vice magazine and the Street Carnage website\n