Recent Election

I was happy to see that there appeared to be a high level of interest in this election, and there was pretty good voter turnout. Voting isn’t just a privilege, but a duty. Voter apathy results in elected officials who aren’t made accountable.

Now that the election is over (thank God!), I believe you and I need to do three things:

(1) First and most importantly, we need to pray for our elected officials. We don’t hesitate to complain and criticize, but how about a little prayer?

(2) We should send an email to all our elected officials at all levels of government reminding them that it was people like you and me who voted them in, and we can vote them out. They should be reminded that they are accountable to the electorate, not to special interests, the party, or big contributors. I would do this politely and respectfully, but firmly. As part of the email, I would briefly explain what you are expecting of him or her on key issues (i.e., clean up Albany once and for all; provide disincentives for shipping jobs overseas; reduce the deficit).

(3) I would occasionally email my thoughts on various issues so that they can get a sense of where the electorate stands. You can’t expect your senator or representative to fulfill your wishes if all he or she hears from are the special interest groups and lobbyists. We need to express our opinions also. They may not read your email but their staffs keep a tally of how the mail is running on various issues. Keep them informed and accountable!