I didn’t plan on voting yesterday —– until my Netflix delivery arrived. “The Tank Man” changed my mind. I typically don’t pay much attention to mid-term elections and local politics here in Georgia bore me incessantly. Moreover, being a left-leaning, vegetarian peace supporter in an overwhelmingly Republican state makes for a lonely place.
“The Tank Man” is a Frontline documentary about the Chinese crackdown on the pro-democracy movement that was highly publicized with the Tiananmen Square massacre. The story is much deeper than the news we received in the West. Most of the US media outlets painted a picture that the movement consisted of a group of students alone when in fact it started weeks before that and involved citizenry of all types. The Chinese were brutal in their crackdown.
Thousands were killed during the incident or executed afterwards. But that’s not where it stopped. The crackdown on personal liberties continues unabaited in China fueled in part by American companies keen on servicing 1+ billion people. Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, Cisco and others contribute in material ways to allow the 30,000 people employed by China’s Internet Police to restrict freedom in egregious ways. A reporter was sent to the gulag because Yahoo complied with the Chinese government’s request for personally identifiable information. It’s obvious that these firms are working closely with the Chinese government to help it continue to deprive the people of basic human liberties.
I stopped the DVD and drove to the polling station and voted regardless of the overwhelming obstacle of living in a Republican state. I knew enough to vote for the major elected positions, but admittedly, I didn’t know some of the candidates for the minor positions. In some cases, especially with the judicial positions, I wrote myself in as a write-in candidate.
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I hear ya! Red states are hard places to go out and vote, but yesterday was the most important day to go do it. Look at Virginia, Montana, even down here in NC. It was more of a statement that you made yesterday, and today…..Don is looking for another job and George is stumbling over his own words.
You should always vote. Regardless of boredom. In a country like ours, power will be taken from the people if they don’t exercise it, regardless of how exciting the election might be. What do you think of Australia’s policy, where voting is required by law? Mandated democracy.
Man, your excuse is just totally sorry for not wanting to vote, and I thought you better than that. Mid terms are the time when it most affects you. You have a right to vote. Exercise it or risk losing it regardless of where you live.