COMMENTARY

MILT THOMAS

Somewhere between the youngest and oldest generation of registered voters is a serious misunderstanding of what it means to vote. The oldest generation probably fought in a war where our very survival as a nation was at stake. Sacrifice meant giving up your life so future generations could live in freedom rather than tyranny. They probably also lived through some part of the Great Depression where up to 25 percent of Americans were out of work. Sacrifice then meant not paying your rent so you could afford to feed your family another day.

The youngest generation watches time worn movies about world war and the Depression, or reads about them in history books, but they see little bearing on life today. Today the latest music and fashion, social media, are all that matters. Sacrifice means only being able to afford an iPhone 5 when everyone else has an iPhone 6.

But for these age groups and Americans in general, the right to vote means having a say in how we want to live our lives, who we feel will best preserve our way of life, and who will make it better.

People vote in that oldest generation like they bet their lives on it, which in many cases, they did. To them it means preserving our freedom, a privilege so important that people are willing to die for it – and have. They demonstrate their respect for voting by taking part in elections. In last year’s Vero Beach City Council election for instance, there were 3618 registered Vero Beach voters 66 and older and 2232 of them actually voted, about 70%.

But in the youngest age category, 18-30, there are 1516 Vero Beach registered voters. Do you know how many of them actually voted in last year’s City Council race? Fifty-four. That is not a percentage, folks. That is the actual number! 54 out of 1516 registered Vero Beach voters. The percentage is a little over three. Three percent of registered voters between the ages of 18-30 took advantage of their privilege to choose this city’s leaders.

Look at the results of August’s school board contest, where about 16 percent of registered county voters took the trouble to cast their ballots. Candidate Shawn Frost received 54 percent of the vote to win election, but that only represented eight percent of registered voters. So was he the majority choice? No, apathy was the real winner in that election.

According to Supervisor of Elections Leslie Rossway Swan, “Candidates are being elected to office, not by a majority of voters, but by what amounts to a few people and that is not good for our country.”

What does this tell us about the future of our democracy? Our cherished way of life? How do we tell citizens of so many other nations who really have no say in their governments that our system is the best way to give them a voice, when we don’t even practice what we preach?

You have no right to complain about the government we elect if you don’t bother to vote. So we ask you to please fulfill your civic responsibility and privilege by voting on November 4.  Let this year’s winners represent the will of the majority.