By Glenn Brunkow, Pottawatomie County farmer and rancher
In about two weeks or so it will be Election Day. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I cannot wait for it to be over. I will not say another word about the campaigns because my mother told me, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”
However, I do want to emphasize how important it is to get out and exercise your right to vote no matter what. Despite what you may have heard, we still live in the freest nation on Earth with the greatest opportunities in the world. That is all dependent on all of us doing our part and getting out to cast our vote.
The price that has been paid to give you the privilege of voting came at a great cost, and it is our duty to honor those who sacrificed for that right. I know it is easy to be discouraged about the current state of things, but that is no reason not to vote.
And if you are discouraged, that’s all the more reason to get involved, especially at the local level. I would encourage all of you to check out Engaged Kansas at www.engagedkansas.org and learn more about how to be a force for positive change in your community. I truly believe it will take all of us being involved at the local level to make a difference. But enough of my soapbox.
I also want to remind you that early voting is an option. I admit I resisted voting before Election Day for a long time. There is something about voting on that day. I have softened that view and I even voted early in the last primary. It does take some of the uncertainty out of having just one day to vote. It takes things like bad weather or unplanned calamities out of the equation. That is the long way of me saying vote early take the doubt out of it. Whether it comes early or on Election Day, your vote is counted the same.
The bottom line is it is important for each one of us who can vote to exercise the right. I know, some of us don’t have much to vote on either. In many cases in Kansas the primary decided the race, but it is still important to cast your vote. There are also many of us who still have contested races, in your case, it is even more important to cast that ballot. I would bet there will be many races decided by a handful of votes.
We all have a million things to do, and it is easy to talk ourselves into thinking our vote does not matter or it won’t make a difference. I am here to tell you it does make a difference and your vote does matter. Whether it is this week, next week or Nov. 5, take the time and go cast your vote. I promise I will, and I will proudly wear the sticker to prove it.
“Insight” is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.
