Please Vote

I cannot think of a more fundamental expression of community than voting.

In democracies around the world we have the hard fought right to help choose our leadership; to influence the policies of our nations; to empower those who govern. In a world full of Facebook and YouTube and Angry Birds, it is often easy to forget that these “rights” we have become accustomed to are not universally enjoyed by all… that they have come with a cost… and that our failure to exercise them exhibits not only a passive indifference, but an active disregard for the staggering price of this simple freedom.

In the United States today Americans will elect a President and Vice President. Many Senators and Congressmen will be selected to represent the interests of states. Sheriffs, judges and school board members will be chosen; port authority representatives, public defenders and a myriad of county officials. Every state, county and municipality will make decisions on tax levies, zoning, state constitutional amendments and a host of other issues of local importance. Approximately 230 million Americans will have the right to participate in these choices… about 130 million will.

We all have dreams. While the American Declaration of Independence asserts our rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, it does not guarantee them. It cannot. And we may “hold certain truths to be self evident”, but what makes them so is our active community decision and support of these principals.

I may not agree with your choices and you may not agree with mine. But the one thing we should all agree on is the right and privilege of free people to voice their thoughts and to express their choice of leadership. The men who penned the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution did not all agree on the issues… but they understood the importance of standing together, as community, in this. The declaration ends with these words: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

At DotNetNuke we have a deep appreciation for this kind of commitment and community; the kind that recognizes that when we band together and serve one another… that everyone is served. In our community we call this the abundance mentality.

If you have not already done so, we at DotNetNuke offer you a sincere encouragement to join your neighbors; to honor generations of heroes that have sacrificed for you; and to contribute to your community in a meaningful way… to vote.