A personal “history” lesson on civic duty
A long long time ago, when I was seventeen going on eighteen, I had a history teacher. This teacher kept a calendar of his students eighteenth birthdays. Now, in the context of an eighteen year old high school boy, a lesson on civic duty was the last ‘birthday present’ that we wanted, but we got it, nonetheless. Throughout the year, as each of my classmates turned eighteen they were promptly sent off to the counselor’s office to register to vote, register for selective service and then to the library to research who our goverment representatives were at the state and federal level. (To give a little perspective, at that time, Al Gore was still ‘inventing’ the internet 🙂 ) Chances were that by the time you, registered to vote, registered for selective service and finished all this research the old fashioned way, you were late for your next class. The history teacher with the birthday calendar had somehow taken care of that already though. When you arrived late for your next class your teacher not only expected you to be late, but then quizzed you on what you found in your research and congratulated you on your new found responsibility and wished you a happy birthday too.
This was a simple excercise, a micro-crusade by a high shool history teacher, but multiplying that by many students over many years of his career, it is certain that he made an impact on many young Americans (and is probably still at it today). He certainly made an impact on me, and I’ve taken my duty as an American, to participate in the electoral process, of profound importance.
Now, in this internet age, there is no excuse not to vote or to be educated on the candidates and ballot initiatives. With the ability to print out a copy of your ballot early and research it, an unprecedented number of voters are now more knowledgeable walking into their polling place.
Finally, to that history teacher with the birthday calendar, Thank you!
DDuBlog 