What's Our Country Worth? | Eastern NC Now

    Our Founding Fathers risked everything, their fortunes, their wealth, and their lives to break away from tyranny, and to form the United States of America where everyone is free to pursue their dreams. All that is required of us to retain that freedom is to educate oneself about the issues facing this country, then to take less than one hour out of every four years to go to the polls and to vote for someone who represents your values. Less than an hour out of 35,040 hours of your life to keep your freedom. Wow, what a concept!

    There are actually people who don't vote (less than 5% will vote in the North Carolina Second Primary on July 17, 2012); they include the ones who don't think their vote counts; and many who call themselves the 99% but who are really just the 47% who want to live off the 53% of productive, taxpaying Americans. These non-voters are people you meet every day, who seem to be rationale, caring people. But what these people are totally missing is that in many elections, it is they, the ones who are too busy or too lazy to vote who seem to complain the loudest that politicians never listen to them, or how the government never gets anything done. It is they who end up electing the corrupt politicians who pass all the laws restricting your freedom, and the politicians beholding to special interest groups, not the individual. How is that possible? Because they, the ones who don't vote, didn't cast a vote to counter the special interest vote, and to defeat the corrupt politician who only represents his own interest.

    The non-voter is a major factor in the dire situation we now find our country in. While history is full of examples, a notable, recent example is from the 2008 election. Obama won North Carolina because there were too many conservatives who didn't bother to vote because they were so disappointed in Bush, and John McCain looked just like Bush to them. Another few hundred votes and there may have been very a different outcome. The last four years may not have experienced the decline we are now seeing if the non-voters had turned out. Look where we are now. Huge unemployment (the new norm we are now told), an economy that sucks, cities across the nation going bankrupt, one of our largest states that may soon suffer the fate of Greece, we've become a second rate world power, our President out-sourced our former first-in-class USA space program (created by a Democrat), and the list goes on... Obama blames Bush; I blame those who didn't bother to vote.

    If you don't like where this country is heading, if you want to be proud of what this country stands for, if you want the USA to be a winner on the world stage again, if you believe the American dream is the opportunity to work hard so you and your family can reap the benefits, then you must take the time to vote in the July 17th second primary and in the November 6th general election. I hope you will vote for conservative principles: fiscal responsibility, limited government, and free markets. You don't even have to risk you fortune, your wealth, or your life; at least not yet. Just vote.