If voting actually changed things, it would probably be illegal...

We've all heard it said many times. "If you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain." I've never totally agreed with that statement, although I do agree that it is important for people to pay attention and get involved with the governing process. But even for people that choose not to vote, there are protections guaranteed by the Constitution, and we should expect our government to honor those protections, regardless of who is in office.

In matters left to the states and people, however, we should definitely get involved.

We're getting ready for some elections this fall, and the number of races that are unopposed is disgusting. Some local towns won't even hold elections because of a lack of candidates. Others will hold elections for one or two positions. If your only choices are one or two people, or one or two parties, that are going to cause higher taxes, it's really not much of a choice. We'll go through the same thing next year on a larger scale, and with a few more candidates, but the same limited choices.

I know how hard it is to get people to run for office, especially third party candidates that actually offer alternatives to the tax and spend mindset the government now has, but if we want to reverse the growth of government, someone has to give the voters someone to vote for.

If we don't make an effort to really get involved, and if we continue to vote for
the same people and the same parties that created the mess, then we really shouldn't complain, even if we have the right.