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Show GOOD CITIZEN " I American's Right to Vote Often I Abused, CorrupteNeglected This ia the second of a series of 10 articles from the booklet "Good Clttien" published by th American Ameri-can Heritage Foundation concerning concern-ing the rights and duties of an American. Ameri-can. Of the nine promises of a good citizen the first is: I will vote at all elections. I will inform myself on candidates and issues and will use my greatest Influence to see that honest and capable officials are elected. I will accept public office when I can serve my community or my country thereby. The right to vote to vote In secret and to have your votes count is a great right. It is grounded in the faith that the average judgment of all of us together to-gether In the long run will be right that "you can't fool all the people all the time." It has many flaws. It has been corrupted, abused and neglected, neg-lected, but by means of it the American Ameri-can people over more than a century cen-tury and a half have done pretty well for themselves. Through agents chosen by you and others like you all laws are made. No man, regardless of his station in life, wields more power than you in the voting booth. You can also vote by not voting, for by staying away from the polls you can help a self-seeking minority make the wrong decision. Don't be afraid to' "lose your vote." The vote that doesn't elect a man still influences what he does. A candidate who just squeaks through knows that you and others you can repudiate him next tune. In this atom-splitting age you are voting on the gravest issues in the history of mankind. . WHEN Y6u REACH voting age you become a member of the "ruling class" the one and only ruling class of this country. Use this power to vote. Vote during the big year elections, of course and at state elections. I 3 vote at your jry Party pri- 1 Jtf mary- i I Vote also ( 'r your city's y mayor or vil- f 1 a g e presi- - Vote, for members of jr the school "mmmtumJ board. Vote on policies and officers of your union. Vote as a stockholder of any company com-pany you have invested in. Vote on civic improvements and bond issues. Vote on officers of your club, your lodge, your grange. In general, all citizens over 21 years of age have the right to vote, but the various states have different laws as to how long you must live in the same place, when to register, etc. In certain states literacy tests or poll taxes are required. In no state is property ownership a requirement. re-quirement. But don't consider you have done your duty merely by voting in national na-tional elections every four years. There are also congressional elections, elec-tions, state elections, city elections, and local elections of various kinds. THERE ARE three ways to vote. You can vote for (1) party, (2) issues, (3) people. If the total party program, as expressed ex-pressed in its platform, appeals to you as being best for the country, it is sound to vote a straight ticket for the people pledged to put that program into effect. If a single issue seems to you more important than anything else, it is sound to vote for persons who support your view of that issue, regardless re-gardless of party. If the ability of an individual to judge each issue fairly and to keep the interests of the people uppermost upper-most appeals to you, it is sound to vote for that individual, regardless of party or any particular issue. But even if you spent your life at it, you couldn't be fully informed on all the candidates and issues. The answer is to do the best you can. It is better to vote on the basis of party allegiance and your own "sense of things" than not to vote at all Your own knowledge and convictions, con-victions, whatever they are, will be combined with the knowledge and convictions of a lot of other people. As a group we are usually wiser than we think we are. This article is Chapter 1 of the booklet "Good Citizen", produced by the American Heritage Foundation, Founda-tion, sponsors of the Freedom Train. A complete book may be obtained by sending 25 cents to the American Heritage Foundation, 17 East 45th Street, New York, N. Y. |