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a moment of punditry
Sep. 13th, 2004 12:13 pmSilence is assent.
You don't have to like Kerry.
You don't have to like the man, or his politics, or his stances, or his dress sense. You don't have to like Kerry in order to vote for him, because you aren't voting for a man. You're voting for change.
That is the power that we the people of the United States of America have been given; the power to voice our wish for change.
Vote. Speak. I won't tell you who to vote for, because that's every man's own choice. Never forget that there are and continue to be people out there who have a vested interest in keeping you silent, because if you do not vote, then you surrender your power, your voice to them. There are people who count on public apathy, on low voter turnout, on the people turning a blind eye to the actions of the government because they have been lied to, and led to believe that they are powerless. We are mis-led to believe that nothing we say or do can make a difference, that even if we elect a new president nothing will change, and that is a lie. If we let ourselves believe that lie then they have succeeded in rendering us silent.
Silence is assent.
If you approve of what Bush has done, is doing, will continue to do, then vote for Bush. I'm not going to tell you to vote against your conscience. But if you're dissatisfied; if you're angry, if you're bitter, if you don't like what our country has become, what our people have done, if you don't want this world to stay the way it is, then vote for change. You aren't voting for Kerry the man; you are voting for change.
We do not yet know if John Kerry will be a better president, a better commander-in-chief, a better leader than George Bush. We do not need to know. We're voting to kick Bush out, because we don't like the way our current president is running things. If we don't like the way Kerry runs things, then we'll kick him out and put another man in place. And if we don't like the way he runs things, then we'll do it again. And again. And again, as many times as we need to until our politicians get the message: they need to represent us, their people, their voters. We'll change horses as many times as we have to to get one that isn't lame. That is the right that we as voters have been given.
Silence is assent.
If you don't vote, you are implicitly stating that you approve of the way things are being done. If you don't approve, then act to change things. Silence is assent.
If you don't vote, then you are still making a statement: you are stating that you don't care what happens to the country, that you are all right if things continue. You are saying that you approve of wars waged without cause, of the economy raped, of peoples oppressed, of our future plundered. You are saying that it's fine with you if these things happen, because you don't care enough to change things.
If you don't vote, you forfeit your voice. It doesn't matter if you're a Republican, or a Democrat, or an Independant, or a Green, or a Libertarian; it doesn't matter if you're a liberal, a conservative, a radical, a reactionary, a moderate. It doesn't matter if you're a Harvard intellectual or a blue-collar worker. If you don't vote, you are equally silent.
Silence is assent.
You don't have to donate to John Kerry's campaign. You don't have to put his bumper sticker on your car. You don't have to attend his rallies. You don't have to like the man. You don't have to vote for John Kerry; you vote for change, because voting is your voice.
Silence is assent.
Silence is assent.
Speak.
You don't have to like Kerry.
You don't have to like the man, or his politics, or his stances, or his dress sense. You don't have to like Kerry in order to vote for him, because you aren't voting for a man. You're voting for change.
That is the power that we the people of the United States of America have been given; the power to voice our wish for change.
Vote. Speak. I won't tell you who to vote for, because that's every man's own choice. Never forget that there are and continue to be people out there who have a vested interest in keeping you silent, because if you do not vote, then you surrender your power, your voice to them. There are people who count on public apathy, on low voter turnout, on the people turning a blind eye to the actions of the government because they have been lied to, and led to believe that they are powerless. We are mis-led to believe that nothing we say or do can make a difference, that even if we elect a new president nothing will change, and that is a lie. If we let ourselves believe that lie then they have succeeded in rendering us silent.
Silence is assent.
If you approve of what Bush has done, is doing, will continue to do, then vote for Bush. I'm not going to tell you to vote against your conscience. But if you're dissatisfied; if you're angry, if you're bitter, if you don't like what our country has become, what our people have done, if you don't want this world to stay the way it is, then vote for change. You aren't voting for Kerry the man; you are voting for change.
We do not yet know if John Kerry will be a better president, a better commander-in-chief, a better leader than George Bush. We do not need to know. We're voting to kick Bush out, because we don't like the way our current president is running things. If we don't like the way Kerry runs things, then we'll kick him out and put another man in place. And if we don't like the way he runs things, then we'll do it again. And again. And again, as many times as we need to until our politicians get the message: they need to represent us, their people, their voters. We'll change horses as many times as we have to to get one that isn't lame. That is the right that we as voters have been given.
Silence is assent.
If you don't vote, you are implicitly stating that you approve of the way things are being done. If you don't approve, then act to change things. Silence is assent.
If you don't vote, then you are still making a statement: you are stating that you don't care what happens to the country, that you are all right if things continue. You are saying that you approve of wars waged without cause, of the economy raped, of peoples oppressed, of our future plundered. You are saying that it's fine with you if these things happen, because you don't care enough to change things.
If you don't vote, you forfeit your voice. It doesn't matter if you're a Republican, or a Democrat, or an Independant, or a Green, or a Libertarian; it doesn't matter if you're a liberal, a conservative, a radical, a reactionary, a moderate. It doesn't matter if you're a Harvard intellectual or a blue-collar worker. If you don't vote, you are equally silent.
Silence is assent.
You don't have to donate to John Kerry's campaign. You don't have to put his bumper sticker on your car. You don't have to attend his rallies. You don't have to like the man. You don't have to vote for John Kerry; you vote for change, because voting is your voice.
Silence is assent.
Silence is assent.
Speak.
