Encourage voters to polls – and drive them there if need be

Writer Max DePree, author of “Leadership Is An Art,” wrote, “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.”

Our reality pricked us in the neck a few weeks ago, when a heretofore unknown governor became a galvanizing force for a Republican Party that has, in no particular order, let a city drown; engaged America in a made-up war that has cost billions of dollars and, horrifyingly worse, thousands of lives; imploded the economy; destroyed the housing market; jettisoned gas prices into the stratosphere; increased animus for us around the globe; and, generally, diminished a nation’s morale.

I could go on, but you get the point.

So, here’s the thing: The thinking people of his country – avid readers like you and me – have to come to this reality: Our responsibility on who takes over leadership of this country goes beyond what we’ve ever even considered. It is not enough merely to cast our vote on November 4 for the candidate that separates us far from the “leadership” (insert your own joke here) that has been at the helm during these turbulent eight years.

We have to encourage others to vote. We have to send money, however nominal, to the preferred candidate. And come November 4, we have to, whenever possible, pick up voters and take them to the polls if necessary.

The reality of John McCain and Sarah Palin calls for such actions. They are equally lacking in substance and ideas. Anyone or anything associated with the mockery of the current administration – by party affiliation, voting record, et. al. – I want no parts of. Yet the polls suggest a close race with that duo ahead by percentage points at particular points in the campaign. Scary.

In Georgia, where I live, there were 600,000 unregistered black voters in 2004. John Kerry lost the state by 200,000 votes. See where I’m going here?

Never before has the adage “every vote counts” meant more. Barack Obama’s candidacy has inspired, yes, hope and change, evident in the record number of voters registered to weigh in on the election. That’s the first part of the electoral process.

But many of these voters have to be pushed to the polls and some have to literally be taken there. Those are our jobs. Pile them up in your car and drive them to the voting precincts, even as gas price teeter toward ridiculous rates. That’s leadership.

Times are so precarious now that we can hardly stand idly by with so much in the balance. That’s a harsh reality.

So, let us – as individuals, book clubs and an organization – assume a leadership role and take action. We have defined the reality and now it’s time to lead.

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