It’s the beginning of October, football season is in full bloom and the Presidential election is a bit more than a month away. First and foremost, I want to urge every veteran who reads this blog to get out there and vote on Tuesday, November 6th.
Also, there are three debates scheduled between the Presidential candidates, the first took place on October 3rd, and two more are scheduled for October 16th and October 22nd, plus a Vice-Presidential candidate debate on October 11th. Although I am pretty certain of whom I’ll be voting for on Election Day, I usually watch all the debates because I can always learn something new about each candidate. The debates will be broadcast on multiple television stations as well as streamed live online, so no excuses.
A colleague recently e-mailed me a couple of what I think of as “dueling opinion pieces” about which Presidential candidate veterans are most likely to vote for. Of course, they were touted as
“polls” of veterans. I interpreted one of them as a gimmick to try to sway veterans toward one candidate, and the other as a more thoughtful discussion of why military veterans are probably not a voting bloc.
These articles made me think of why I consider myself to be a lifelong member of one of the two major political parties in our country. One reason is the area of the nation where I have resided throughout my life. Another factor is the awareness of the political leanings of my parents, which I actually listened to, and which by osmosis became my politics.
Another big ingredient was the work ethic that I grew up within, not just in my immediate family but in the homes of my nine aunts and uncles, plus even more cousins. This extended to my grade school friends, too: my sixth, seventh and eighth grade hangout was an auto body repair shop, which was owned by the father of one of my childhood best friends.
Veterans of military service are the defenders of the freedom that we cherish in the USA. We come from every state in the nation and its territories, and from every different walk of life. We come from rich, middle-class, poor and immigrant families. We are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas. We are black, tan, yellow, red and white.
So I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be part of a voting bloc, one way or the other. If I decide that I’m going to change my vote five minutes before I cast it, I’m free to do that because of all of those veterans who came before me and their families, and because of all who serve today.
I never saw combat before my spinal cord injury yet I am extremely proud that I served voluntarily in the United States Marine Corps for 16 months. And I see voting on Election Day as both a right and a responsibility. Continue to lead as a veteran by watching the debates and casting your ballot on November 6th.