My friend Russ Page invited me some time ago to post about why we should vote. Well, in accord with my personality, I procrastinated, mostly because I didn’t have any good ideas of what to say.

Well, today all that changed. By now you are probably familiar with, or have at least heard about the Al Sharpton vs. Mitt Romney and the Mormons fiasco. Although I do not agree with Mr. Sharpton’s comments or the manner in which he is handling himself, it does illustrate a good reason to vote (that sounds weird, doesn’t it?).

I think I was stumped because I couldn’t see a reason to vote, but the more I think about it, that’s just it, voting isn’t enough. Mr. Sharpton said “those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways. . .” I believe he is referring to the power of the vote. So that’s where it begins, we must vote, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. Voting by itself is a definitely acting out one’s civic duty, but I don’t believe it is enough.

Now we come to the fact that Mr. Sharpton made any comments at all. This is a great example of the need to, and the freedom we have to open our mouths. Now, let me clarify, I’m not advocating or even suggesting that one should use bigoted or racial or any discriminatory remarks to make a political statement. (The fact that you can is a great testament to the freedoms we espouse and live as a nation.) We need to become more involved, more active, whether that is writing a letter to the editor or organizing a public rally, it doesn’t really matter, make it a point to make a point.

So there’s my Two Cents, sadly, thanks to Mr. Sharpton I now have a good reason why we should vote. The bottom line is that we should vote, but don’t stop there, surely our political leaders didn’t get there simply by voting, no, they had to engage and become engaged in public discourse and dialogue. We need to take more seriously these freedoms, and, I believe obligations, to participate in this thing called democracy and freedom.