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The Right to Vote
by:
Aynne McAvoy
What a strange phrase that is, the right to vote. Is
this topic part of the Towards the Unknown series? Not in the way that
you would think there is nothing metaphysical or spooky about voting, nothing
unusual about it. Just women voting! Imagine!
What fits into the
Towards the Unknown category is that it is a huge question in my mind why
more women aren't registered to vote, or if they are registered, why they
aren't voting? Why aren't more women involved in politics? Women
account for about half the people in this country! Think about the voting
power that we have!
The media makes a big deal out of women senators,
congressmen, judges, and governors.
I suppose it's a big deal because less
than 100 years ago, women were not allowed to vote. Think about that
sentence for a second. I'll say it again. Less than 100 years
ago, women were not allowed to vote.
Now, my temperament is such that
should you tell me I am not allowed to do this or that, you might as
well wave a red flag in front of my face. I suppose should you really
want me to get angry about something, tell me that I am not allowed to do it.
Tell me I'm not intelligent enough, that I am less than human, that I am a
poor frail, imbecile not capable of making a decision on such a thing as
voting!
Imagine women, just for a minute what that would feel like!
Imagine being told you had no options in your life, very few choices,
all because you were unfortunate enough to be born a woman! Imagine
that you had to consult a man first on just about everything. Pretend
that you had to ask permission before even leaving the house for the day;
and of course, you should really have someone with you. You can't
be trusted to go anywhere on your own. In fact imagine being treated
like someone's brainless pet, or worse. Imagine knowing that your
sole function in life was to breed and raise the offspring; to wait on
males and live a sub servant life.
I am so very grateful for having
been born now, in these days of total freedom for women. I know that I
wouldn't have fared well should I have been born in any other time but this
one.
What is unknown here
is what could possibly be more important than using this 'right' that our
sisters fought so very hard to win for all women from that point in time on! What could be more important than learning about politics, learning about
the candidates, running for office, or just showing up at the polling booth
in November? This is our right!
My attitude is what do you mean,
the right to vote? You might as well say the right to breathe, or the right
to sneeze, or the right to laugh! The right to vote is my right!
Women
please remember what those women 100 years ago went through. Remember how
they were jailed and beaten. Remember how they were scorned. Remember
the degradation that they suffered! Remember that
these women not only
went through this for that time in our nation's history, but for their
daughters and their granddaughters; for all unborn women yet to
come.
Can you imagine one of those women saying they didn't have time
to picket that day, sorry! They had to get their nails done, and pick
up their son at soccer and drop him off at his sleepover and then meet
the girls for Bonco night. Can you imagine that? Yet, there
are women of today that say they just can't find the time to mail in that
voter registration form, or they just are too stressed to know
which politician to vote for, so they aren't going to vote at all. There
are women today that feel that just about anything in their life is more
important on that Tuesday in November than making that short trip to the
voting booth.
Should you be one of those women who have yet to register
to vote, call the board of elections and have them send you one. Or you can call me or write me. I
will send you a voter registration form, straight from me to you. Fill
it out and mail it in before October 8, 2004.
Then look up the
number for the League of Women voters in your county
and give them a call
too. They will be glad to hear from you! |