By Mark Brown, Stevensville
Open letter to America, via Montana:
A quote from John F. Kennedy’s book, “Profiles in Courage”:
“In a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his politics, ‘holds office’; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends on how we fulfill those responsibilities. We the people are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.”
Being an American citizen is a responsibility. It requires effort, attention and personal courage.
This means you have to expend a certain amount of time and energy to be a good citizen, in other words, if you are not registered to vote, get registered, go do it yourself, in person, sign the form and DO IT. Don’t expect someone to do this for you, get up and take the time to be a Citizen.
Next, it is your responsibility to VOTE. Get off your butt, got to the polls or arrange to have an absentee ballot delivered to you and put your dot in the circle or the X in the box and VOTE. If you want to put on your mask, don your PPE, dress in HAZMAT gear or whatever you feel you need, just VOTE. It is your right and your RESPONSIBILITY.
My mother took it upon herself since she turned 21 to vote in EVERY election in which she was eligible to vote for her entire life. She never failed to vote in a national, state or local election in her precinct, regardless of her location of residence in over 70 years. In her early years of voting she followed my father around the country during WW2 while he served in the US Navy. It took a concerted effort to vote during that time, but she did it and it’s possible for anyone to do the same today and it should the MUCH easier now. She would get out of a sick bed in order to vote. She took her responsibility as a citizen seriously, just as President Kennedy reminds us. When she got too ill to get out much, she made sure an absentee ballot arrived on her doorstep and she voted.
America should be this responsible, this dedicated to our Constitutional Republic, make it work by doing your job as a citizen, don’t expect people to do it for you, don’t expect it to be easy.
Being a citizen of the United States isn’t easy. Do your part.