Vote?
Copyright © 1999 by Dave Badtke
So, whaddya think? Should I vote today?
Maybe it’s not worth the effort. Maybe I should just say the heck with it. There are just so many bad things going on in government these days - divisive party politics, soft money corruption, budget scams, greed, sex scandals and the like - that it doesn’t seem that my vote is worth the trouble. Whoever gets elected is just going to perpetuate the old problems and add a few new ones.
Do I know that my vote matters?
Oh sure. Democracy in action. We all learned in high school that one vote could make all the difference. Next you’ll be reminding me how Kennedy defeated Nixon by one-hundred-thousand votes out of sixty-eight million. That’s still about the population of Vallejo! It’ll snow during a Benicia summer before my vote makes any difference.
Do I remember the San Ramon Valley school-bond issue that failed by 1 vote a few years back?
No, I can’t say that I do. But what’s your point? Society is going to hell in a handbasket and politicians are the weavers. There’s not so much difference between the candidates that voting for one or the other is going to make any difference at all.
Do I think we’re voting on society?
Give me a break. I know it’s a local election and that the candidates are my neighbors and that I can go talk to them whenever I need to. But so many of our local problems seem beyond hope. Take for example our brain-dead approach to regional transportation: Roads and cars and trucks, oh stuck! Roads and cars and trucks, oh stuck! For crying out loud, I’m spending half my life commuting to work.
Do I know about the revival of the ferry system?
Of course I do. What, you think I don’t read the Benicia Herald? Sure it’ll be pretty neat to take the ferry from Benicia to Martinez or Point Richmond or Berkeley or San Francisco, but I doubt that will improve my commute. Didn’t you read the letter to the editor a few weeks back in which Mark Herman reminded us that the bridges replaced inefficient ferries 50 years ago. His comments were right on.
Do I think chain stores are better than small shops?
Well, sometimes I like the lower prices and larger selections of the chain stores, but the smaller, independent stores were somehow better. When I was a kid, all the shop owners used to know my name. I remember this one time when I went into the corner sweet shop with my friends and Mr. – Hey, but that doesn’t have anything to do with ferries.
Do I think all progress is progress?
Sounds like a trick question to me. I suppose some older ways of doing things did work better than we realized. Me, I’m partial to chalkboards, but you know you can’t go home again. On the other hand, those ferries just might be a good idea.
Getting back to the point, what about our half-million dollar payment to Legal Services? That’s pretty awful, isn’t it? That’s reason enough for me not to vote for any of these candidates. Why didn’t the Mayor and Council sit down with us long ago to hammer out a solution that would have respected both the court’s decision and what we want?
What’s that you say? Do I know the history and did I ask them?
Well, no. I never go to their darn meetings. They’re too long and hard to follow. Sometimes I fall asleep watching the proceedings on channel 6. Anyway, that’s their job. That’s why we elect them. And they better protect my neighborhood or I will go to one of their meetings and give them a piece of my mind.
Have I joined a Community Advisory Group?
Maybe I should. Peter Bray’s letter last week made me laugh when I thought of the "’petroleum coke dust toilet’ and transfer station" that was proposed to improve the view from Arts Benicia.
Do I think it would be funny today if people hadn’t worked against it?
No. Certainly not. His letter and others reminded me that there are a lot of folks out there who work together with our local government to make Benicia a better community. A CAG might be just the thing for me.
Do I think I can be a full member even if I don’t vote?
Why not? It’s my constitutional right as an American, isn’t it?
Anyway, who said I’m not going to vote. I was just exploring the possibilities with you. Of course I’m going to vote. Of course I know it’s important to vote first and participate after.
What’s the matter, can’t you take a joke?
- Dave Badtke is founder of the developing Carquinez Review literary journal. Find him on the web at www.CarquinezReview.com.
Contact him at:
Dave@CarquinezReview.com or Dave@Badtke.com