It Only Takes Three

"Alice's Restaurant".  Seems to be becoming something of a theme.

Get out and vote, you slackers.

As I've mentioned previously, I just don't understand the "I'm not going to bother to vote" contingent.  Spent some time venting over this with my wife last night.  Roberta X, being much more eloquent than I am, managed to make the argument much more succinctly:

Fix, no fix-- Doesn't matter. If you were drowning, would you struggle, or would you just close your eyes and sink quietly? You fight, dammit, or you might as well be a rutabaga.

Understand this, folks.  I have three little girls.  Lovely young ladies who are growing up big and strong and with a healthy respect for their God, their country, and the rule of law.  God willing and the creeks don't rise, my wife and I are making our best effort to make sure that when they step out of the house and into the great, big, wide world, they'll have their heads screwed on straight and their hearts in the right place.

If you're one of those people who, in a fit of pique, have decided not to vote, you're essentially telling me that you're cool with the idea that there's a good chance those girls will grow up in a world that bears little or no resemblance to the one you have enjoyed in your lifetime.  Best case, economic unrest and a depression that makes the 1930's look appealing.  Worse case, continued expansion of government power and control until the US of A starts looking more and more like the USS of R.  Personally, neither is appealing.

I have problems with the government spending my family, and my children, into a black hole of swirling, all-consuming debt.  I have issues with those who increasingly whine and yammer for Yet More Free Stuff (TM), because they've given up on managing their own lives.  I have nothing but despite for those who think that stealing from my children's future to fuel their lives today is a reasonable thing to do.

If you aren't even willing to expend the minimal amount of time and energy it takes to examine the major issues, make a decision about what would be the best path for our country, and exert the few calories it takes walk into your local polling place to cast a vote, then what you're telling me is that my children - all of our children - just aren't worth a wet fart in a rainstorm.  From where I'm standing, the difference between you and the "everything should be free!" looters is functionally irrelevant.

So, hey - if you've decided that the way forward in this country is to hang your hat and bow out of the fight... thank you for making your position clear.  You will be treated with all the dignity and respect you deserve.