Civic Duty and Laziness

So we are less than a week away from voting day. Much like my exams, I have good intentions of really studying the candidates and ballot measures far in advance, but that never works out. If I am lucky I look at it a few hours beforehand. If I am not lucky I am winging it, voting for city officials by their formal job titles or going by the party line in other cases.

It's disappointing that less than 100 years ago women fought for me to have rights I can't even muster up the appreciation for. I'm thinking about how I'm going to get to work and to school and to my other class and how I could possibly fit in a trip to the polling place during the hours it's open. I mean, employers have to give you time off if your work schedule doesn't permit you time to vote. But what if you have other obligations after? I think of all the working poor for whom voting is not always possible. They can't get the time off work if work doesn't technically interfere with the polling hours, but due to transportation or kids might not be able to find the time to get there. Or they might move too often to consider a mail-in ballot a good option. I guess it's like jury duty for me. I believe in a fair justice system that has a trial by a jury of your peers, but when I get the notice myself wish I could get out of it as it just piles on top of the mountain of other obligations I have. It's interesting how passive we can allow ourselves to be in a democratic country and how necessary it is to remind ourselves to take responsibility for our citizenship in that society.