I mean, I live my entire life according to his teachings.
And I know that one of those quotes was this brilliant insight uttered in the midst of writing a special letter to a beloved icon:
"There are three things I've learned never to discuss with people -- religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin!"
At the risk of repeating myself, I will say that while the discussion of religion and politics at the S&P is verboten, the Great Pumpkin is pretty much a nightly topic... Linus, you can discuss it with the right people!
But tonight I wish to make just a brief mention of political responsibility. Not even politics in general (and surely never party politics, which serves only to incur my wrath, whereupon I knock all self-important sidetakers on their collective ass and out of the bar).
I just want to mention our obligation to simply vote.
(I love that the flash wiped out the ' I ', which is just exactly how Frankie would say it!)
It's not about feeling like you're right, or that anyone else is wrong, or that you've won.
It's about obligation, and the opportunity that we are afforded a few times a year -- the chance to exercise our American right, our human privilege to speak our minds and hearts with a ballot, a touchscreen, a punchcard, a pen -- so we will never really lose.
Now, that might feel like a blanket statement...
... but as we all know, those were the only kind Linus ever made.
DDSPelt!
Voting is probably the single most important responsibility we have as citizens. I am proud to admit, I have not missed an opportunity to vote since I turned old enough to back in 19&#.
ReplyDeleteA high school civics teacher once told our class that bad politicians are put in office by people who will not vote. Then he quoted Mark Twain: "Where every man in a state has a vote, brutal laws are impossible"
“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.” John Quincy Adams
DDSVOTE
Amen, brother Fester.
ReplyDelete"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
Every time I vote, ever since I first cast a ballot, I have always had the same feeling of pride, hope and gratitude. It's literally a physical tingle, a sensation of lightness.
A remarkable right, the vote. One that, if treated as a privilege, we'll never lose.
Brilliant. Everything about it.
ReplyDelete