Do You Vote?

A few days ago, I received the following email message
(I've edited out the personal details):

"Subject: Do You Vote?"

"Hi Tony,"

"I apologize ahead of time if this is in any way beyond the
boundaries of our communication..."

"I don't usually get into discussions where people have
such high emotions linked to their opinions on a topic."

"But, I made the mistake last night when provoked about
voting..."

"I believe I might have lost the goodwill of some people
last night due to my refusal to accept the fact that I
'SHOULD' vote."

"I had no facts, just a mere 'feeling' of it not being for
me... so I sounded pretty silly and even said a few
erroneous things concerning voting."

"I sounded like an uneducated idiot because of such
'feeling' based decision making."

"So, because I look up to you and see you as a very wise
person, I just wanted to know if you voted or not. So far,
nothing presented to me through my research has convinced
me that I "should".

Although, as a rule, I stay away from discussions even
remotely related to politics (at least publicly), the
importance and timeliness of this question make it
deserving of an answer.

Here it goes...

One of the many benefits of living in a free society is
that the very same freedom that grants you the right to do
something, grants you the right *not* to do it if you so
choose.

So...

I'm not going to address whether you should or shouldn't
vote, or why you should or shouldn't vote, I'm going to
merely answer the question of whether I vote or not and
give you my reasoning behind it...

Feel free to take from it what you will. :-)

Do I vote?

Sure do!

As a matter of fact, nowadays, Election Day is one of two
days a year (the other being the Fourth of
July/Independence Day) I use to "formally" discuss freedom,
where it *really* comes from, and how it's maintained with
my son, who's now ten years old, correcting the
misinformation he's taught in school.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that personal freedom (the
freedom to do whatever I want to do, whenever I want to do
it, without money being the deciding factor) is way up
there on my list of what's *truly* important to me, it's
one of the things I cherish most.

My ability to enjoy personal freedom and to continue to do
so flourishes best in a society where the freedom to do so
is granted by the people, by way of a higher "authority",
*not* government.

Unfortunately, and sadly I might add, because of the apathy
of the populace as a whole and the desire of some for more
power for themselves, our freedoms here in the United
States have been very slowing eroding over the years (and
I'm not talking here about just the "last eight years", so
to speak, I'm talking about over a period of many, many,
*many* years).

All that stands between further erosion and eventual loss
of these freedoms (and to have any chance whatsoever of
their being restored to what they once were), is people
taking the time to become informed and voting for those who
will work to protect those freedoms, as they were intended
by the "founding fathers", even though sometimes the choice
may be limited to who will do the least amount of damage at
any given time.

I think Ronald Reagan, former President of the United
States and Governor of the State of California, said it
best when he said:

"Freedom is always just one generation away from
extinction. We don't pass it to our children in the
bloodstream; we have to fight for it and protect it, and
then hand it to them so that they shall do the same, or
we're going to find ourselves spending our sunset years
telling our children and our children's children about a
time in America, back in the day, when men and women were
free."

I, for one, don't want to spend my "sunset years" telling
my son and my son's children about a time in America, back
in the day, when men and women were free...

Therefore...

On November 4th (Election Day here in the United States)...

With my son standing proudly by my side...

As I have for many years...

I will be voting.

----------------------------------------------------
Tony Mase is a serious student of the works of Wallace D.
Wattles and the creator of an amazing website that'll take
you by the hand and guide you step-by-step down Wallace D.
Wattles' proven path to wealth, health, success, happiness,
love, and more... http://www.tonymasesinnercircle.com

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