THOUGHTS
Images and the stories that go with them often get imbedded in our memories and our minds in a way that words can never accomplish. An image that has remained in my mind is the picture of Iraqi women voting in the first free election held in Iraq for many years. For us in the United States that is a commonplace freedom that we have enjoyed for years, but for Iraqis and especially women, it is a privilege that they took very seriously in spite of death threats, bombings, and ruthless coercion. While we have to worry about possible changes in voting locations, they worried about bullets and bombs. We all rejoiced at their new-found freedoms because the cost had been high, not only for Iraqi citizens but for American and Allied soldiers who had bought their freedom with their own blood.
Minding everybody’s business but your own
Sometimes we get so busy worrying about other people’s business that we forget our own responsibilities. How many times have you told someone what they ought to be doing yet neglected to do it yourselves? I am guilty of that sometimes. I have to confess that a couple of times when we have sent out alerts to you to contact your representatives, I have been so busy making sure you knew what you were supposed to do I forgot to do it myself.
Abysmal
The last election was a good example of citizen apathy and allowing busyness to obscure the really important things. The voter turn-out in this year’s primary in Kansas was abysmal. There is no other way to describe it. Sixteen percent of registered voters turned out in Johnson County and fifteen percent statewide. This is in spite of advanced voting ballots, voting by mail, etc. and a lot of media coverage of candidates and a surplus of information from the candidates themselves. In spite of extensive facts the general population did not turn out to vote; neither did conservatives. As a result, in many cases, conservatives and Christians lost an opportunity to have a voice in the State Board of Education and in many of our districts and precincts, not to mention the national offices. Many of you will have no candidate that reflects your views on the ballot this fall.
When talk doesn’t walk
Many of us talk interminably about how bad things are and how we have lost our voice in the marketplace of ideas, yet we (some of you) failed to get to the voting booth. As a result we lost an opportunity to influence the culture and we left those whom we said that we wanted to make changes in school policies and in state policies standing in front of the enemy with no one to back them up. We put them on the front lines, asked them to fire a volley at the enemy and left them to fight alone. The candidates we recruited walked their districts in 100 + degree heat, spent money (often their own money), and took time away from their jobs and families to represent us and to do the things that we said we wanted. Where were the voters? When the voting base does not show up at the voting booths, the people who risked all to do the right thing and are defeated go home disillusioned and confused and those who are left to "hold the bag" face insurmountable odds as they continue to fight the fight but with diminished or non-existent advantage. Instead of expected reinforcements, they have to fight with less against a strengthened and emboldened enemy.
What will it take?
For those of us who are in the business of informing the grass roots about the issues; the enormity of the problems, and the task of encouraging folks to be involved, it is so discouraging. We wonder what it will take for like-minded people to make voting a priority; what it will take for them to make a phone call, write a letter or tell their friends about the issues. The tragedy of 9/11 united us for a time; it was a time for introspection and repentance but it didn’t last long. We all have to wonder why it didn’t. What calamity has to befall us before we will gather together a group of our friends and neighbors to pray for our country and our elected officials?
Inertia has to be overcome
We have had the years since 9/11 in which we have been protected by God; yet so many Americans have just slid back into the old familiar ways and the lessons learned have faded into the repository of bad memories. When will Americans and Kansans care enough to take action? What will have to happen before the inertia of complacency is overcome? Or are we content to let our youth pay our ransom for freedom with their lives and limbs?
The answers come from you
I don’t have the answers to these questions . . . I am asking them of myself. You who are reading this have to ask the hard questions of yourselves and decide what will motivate and inspire you. The dream of freedom should be enough to inspire us but apparently it was enough for only 15 percent of us. What a tragedy. Please think about it and vote in the November election. There are good people counting on you.
In Him,
Judy Smith
State Director
Concerned Women for America of Kansas
P. O. Box 11233
Shawnee Mission, KS 66207
Phone/Fax: 913-491-1380
Email: director@kansas.cwfa.org
Web site: kansas.cwfa.org |