With freedom comes responsibility

A little more than 240,000 registered Maricopa County voters decided which candidates will run for state and federal office this November.

That figure represents only 16.4 percent of the more than 1.4 million registered voters in this county, according to the latest figures from the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.

No one had to dodge bullets or fear improvised explosive devices to get to the polls as they do in Iraq. So what could possibly explain why roughly 1.2 million registered voters in our county did not bother to vote?

Indolence? Apathy? Pessimism? A combination of all three, perhaps?

Voting is not strictly an American “right,” it is an American duty because in a democracy the people are responsible for the type of government they get. In the primary election, the people decide who will run for office. In the general election, the people decide who will hold office. And the people decide if or when it is time for a change.

The registered voter who does not take a few precious minutes to cast a ballot is, in effect,  abrogating individual responsibility. By not voting, that citizen is blindly handing over responsibility and power to politicians, their cronies, lobbyists, and special interest groups.

“Leave no authority existing not responsible to the people,” so said Thomas Jefferson.

And so in the November election, after all the ballots are counted, we will see how many people are willing to assume responsibility for their government.

The people who don’t have no basis for complaint.