The Unsung Heroes of the Republic

I love election day. I love voting. I love the old people who work in the polling places, their friendly, businesslike way of going about things.

I believe that there are people who are trying to manipulate the vote by nefarious means, who are trying to register phantoms and change the rules so blocks of unfriendly voters can't cast their ballots. Those anti-democratic (as in democracy, not Democratic Party) machinations are despicable, and those who engage in them should be reviled as enemies not just of one party or the other, but of freedom itself

I also believe that those efforts are largely without effect, because it takes a lot of work to change or negate enough votes to make a difference, and that much work in public forums doesn't usually happen in secret. People complain and there are investigations and most often those investigations come to not much. I am, for the record, in favor of complaint. If you think someone is messing with the vote, bring it up.

I am, without question, a militant when it comes to my vote. Anyone who tries to keep me from voting is in deep, deep trouble. I think most of us are like that, and we should be. Voting is serious business. We live in a nation where the government derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed, and voting is how we confer that consent.

Because we are a nation of militants, today you'll hear news about the few polling places where things go wrong. We'll doubtless come out of this election with a list of things that need to be fixed. But in the vast majority of polling places, people will behave and cast their ballots. Neighbors who agree on almost nothing will nod their good mornings and go on with their work. Lawyers will not be necessary and security will not be called.

Perhaps it's irrational, but I have confidence in the system largely because the last bulwark of our freedom is the retirees who work in the polling places, Republicans and Democrats side-by-side checking identifications and crossing off names. They keep the big machine running, being careful and making sure. Today, after all the huffing and puffing of the campaign, I'll vote and come away convinced that the republic is in good -- if withered -- hands.

Comments

[Steve]

Every now and then Tom you hit one out of the park.