One Vote

The prisoner was a woman, unusual in 19th century America. And the fine was large for that day—$100.00 plus court costs. After being held for quite some time in a New York jail, the prisoner finally had her day in court. It was a brief day as lawyers for the defense and the state presented their cases quickly. The verdict was equally fast in coming; she was guilty as charged. Anyone could understand that. There followed the sentencing, and it seemed all over. But almost as an afterthought, and possibly out of courtesy to his unusual woman prisoner, the judge asked if she wished to speak. She stood tall and erect in the prisoners’ dock.

“Yes, your honor,” she said. “I do have something to say. In your judgment of guilty, you have trampled underfoot every principle of government and ignored my rights as a citizen. I am degraded; as is all my sex, by Your Honor’s verdict today.”

When she sat down, it was somehow different. She never paid that fine. And her release from custody came that same day. Beyond this, she dramatized the cause fifty years before its triumph.

Her crime? Susan B. Anthony had presented herself at the Rochester, New York polls, and had voted in a presidential election. And things were never the same after that one courageous lady stood up to be counted.

Do you think that your “one vote” doesn’t matter? That it won’t change a thing, anyway? Do you despise the system, or “the establishment?” Do you believe everything in politics is just a bucket of... well, you know what. Are you sick and tired of all the ads, all the crap being tossed around to the point where you don’t know who or what to believe? Have you completely given up on elected officials who say one thing but do another? I’ve been there. In fact, there are days when I could say “yes” to all of those questions.

But here’s the thing: Participating in elections is one of the most fundamental and precious freedoms of American life. Many people in countries around the world do not have the same freedom, nor did many Americans in centuries past.

Bottom line: No matter what you believe or who you support, it is important to exercise your rights. The Big Day is next Tuesday. Be there. Show up. Do the one most-valued right in America.

See you at the polls!

*from “The Wonder of America: Remarkable Stories Celebrating the Spirit of Our Nation,” by Derric Johnson