Voting is your right, responsibility

This weekend we are celebrating our nation’s birthday, born on the 4th of July in 1776, 238 years ago. We do it with parades, flag waving, picnics, baseball games and of course fireworks. Though I’m not a fan of fireworks due to my post-traumatic stress disorder. Those big booming fireworks, do quite a number on this old GI. I enjoyed the parade, ate hot dogs and get my patriotic thing on. July 4th is perfect for that. But celebrating in small Alaska town is even better.

As we celebrate we should also think about just what those founding fathers gave us to when they established this free nation based on liberty, justice and democracy in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence. With that document they committed treason and declared our freedom from the British Empire to the world. They pledged their very lives in the fight to become a free nation. No joke if we had lost the war, or if those guys had been captured during the war, every one of them would have faced execution by the British.

After the hard-fought revolution, those same guys hammered together the Constitution, which became the laws and the framework for the United States of America. How they did it still gets to me. If we tried today it wouldn’t have happened. But they did it without the Internet, Google, C-SPAN, partisan politics and Fox News. They did it all in the sweltering summer heat in a tiny courthouse in Philadelphia with no AC, just an open window or two. Sometimes they fought like cats and dogs. Yet somehow they put together one of the greatest documents in human history. One that still lives and breathes life into this nation every day — the U.S. Constitution. From common soldier to elder statesman of the era, they put their lives on the line to give us these powerful legacies.

Legacies that still affect us all to this day and I hope for centuries to come. Want to know about the most powerful one is? It is far more powerful than a locomotive and packs more punch than a howitzer. It’s something that every U.S. citizen has the right to use to help keep this great nation alive and kicking and one that many service members have died to protect.

I’m talking about our right and more importantly, our responsibility, to vote. We wouldn’t be the nation we are today without it. It breaths life into the words “We the People.” And it’s not just a catchy phase in large letters in the preamble. When we vote we help shape this country. We weigh in on the direction it needs to go.

It is also the most neglected right in the country today. Far too many people just don’t give a hoot and let it slide into apathy. The shame is all on us. It turns “We the People” into “Where the hell are you?” That is something that could be easily corrected. Now is the perfect time to do that.

There is a primary election going is Aug. 19. Plan now to vote that Tuesday. Start now by making sure you are registered to vote by the July 20 deadline.

That is the place to start. This is perfect time to prove to those brave founding fathers that we value the rights and responsibilities that are our direct legacy from these patriots.

A strong republic requires us all to participate in our governance. We are each tasked with the responsibility to vote, to participate in our own governance.

Pick the candidate that appeals best to your values and issues. Then and this is the most critical part of the whole she -bang. You must make your mark on the ballot to cast that vote. It is so simple to do.

Now many put it off. Saying things like” my vote doesn’t count” or” it is only a primary it is not important” and other lame excuses. That is frankly not good enough. Voting is the solemn responsibility of every citizen. It is our duty. And it is our inheritance.

True patriots must do more than wave a flag and chant “USA, USA!” True American patriots go to their poling centers and cast their vote in every election. The right and responsibility to vote is the bedrock of our republic. It is the bedrock principle of our nation. I would dearly love to see those voter turnout counts rise from a mere 12 percent to 95.9 percent.

So keep a little of that spirit of 1776 alive in you, make sure you are registered and come August go out and cast your vote. Be a true American patriot, a true Alaskan and vote in every election. I will, and have vote, in every election. Care to join me?

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.