| By Paul Stanton, Hamilton | |
| Like many people, I can’t wait to see this election over. If half of the ads were true, one wonders why the candidates are allowed out in public, much less in public office.
In spite of the drama in our own election, I found the recent news from Afghanistan encouraging. In that unhappy land, where most people have never known a time of peace, a parliamentary election was held this month. The Taliban and ISIS threatened everyone who dared to vote. They blocked access to polls, killed at least 30 Afghans, and injured several hundred during the election. Still, half the Afghans eligible to vote have shown up to cast ballots. While there are questions about the integrity of the election, the bigger story is the number of people willing to risk their lives to vote. In our last non-presidential election (like the one in Afghanistan) less than 37% of eligible U.S. voters cast a ballot. In 2016, it was 57%. With this election, I hope Americans will vote as readily as the Afghans. Nasty TV ads and political hype shouldn’t discourage us from this most universal duty of citizenship. |
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