Take advantage of America's most precious gift …

Frontiersman editorial board

Two weeks ago terrorists attacked the United States and left many, if not most, of our citizens wondering if there was anything they personally could do for their country.

Answers to that age-old civics question have come frequently since the attack and have been repeated almost ad nauseum by everyone from the president and the network talking heads to local school teachers and radio disc jockeys.

Give blood, send money, pray for the victims, support the men and women in uniform, fly the flag, send money, socks, respirators or quilts -- the list could go on.

We don't want to belittle any of those suggestions, but we would like to add one.

Please take advantage of America's most precious gift and vote next Tuesday.

If you think your vote doesn't matter, think again. Locally our elections have had razor-thin margins. Mat-Su assembly member Kelly Lankford Ladere won her seat on the borough assembly by 10 votes in October 2000.

Ladere's victory was in a three-way race, with all three candidates coming within 45 votes of each other. That was in an election in which 22 percent of the borough's eligible voters turned out -- 22 percent. We're willing to bet that more than 22 percent of our citizens purchased a flag last week.

For those who pass on voting because they feel disenfranchised with local politics, we can only say that time and time again we've found Mat-Su area politicians to be accessible and open about views. And we've found that to hold true regardless of which side of an issue a particular politician supports, or what partisan alignment, if any, they wear on their lapel.

And we suspect this holds true whether they are approached by a newspaper reporter or by the average citizen.

The people who have signed to run have taken civic involvement to a level far past simple flag waving. They've signed up for jobs that will demand much of their time, attention, and energy without much in the way of monetary compensation. They deserve thanks from the rest of us as much as they deserve scrutiny and input.

Our community is facing rapid changes. We need a government that is responsive, but politicians can't respond to their constituents if they don't know them-- responsible citizens should meet them at least halfway.

So switch off your TV and head to your polling place next Tuesday. The Taliban will hate you for it.