In case that title is too subtle for you, get off your duff and go VOTE!

I don’t want to hear the usual stupid excuses. My vote doesn’t count! Really? How do they know to count all those other votes and not yours? The only way to win is to have the most votes. That the other guy got votes too doesn’t negate the votes cast for the winner. Sure, the extra votes received are what puts the candidate over the top but only because of all the other votes those extra few are standing on.

If only the ‘extra’ votes are counted, then the other guy wins because you can’t know which votes are ‘extra’ until every vote is counted. A candidate dumb enough to allow the bulk of the votes for him to be discounted and only officially record the extras is an idiot and we’re probably better off that he isn’t elected. But the point remains, they can’t discount votes until all the votes are counted.

Ipso facto, all votes count.

Next stupid excuse: I don’t know who to vote for. Seriously? They start campaigning one to two years in advance. You couldn’t do a simple internet search before now? Well, you have until Tuesday so get busy. Don’t look at me with that tone of voice! You had plenty of time to do your homework, so no crying about it now.

Or you can just use the Cliff Notes^[TM] like everyone else. Yes, really. Look up the platforms of the various parties. You can include the Libertarians and the Greens if you want or you can just look at the Republicans and the Democrats, your call. Run down the list and figure out which platform you think is best for the country. Then just vote straight party on Election Day.

Not the most ideal way to decide but it beats the alternative of going down the ballot and voting for the names you like the sound of. Don’t laugh. There’s a reason we’ve never had a Polish president.

Number three: I’m too busy. No, you’re not. You’ve got time to read this blog or watch the video so you have time to drop by the polling place on Tuesday. If you didn’t take advantage of early voting, that’s on you. If it wasn’t available, so what? If you aren’t in surgery as the patient or the surgeon, odds are you can squeeze in a few minutes to vote. Everyone else manages, so can you!

And finally, the most imbecilic of all: But my vote doesn’t matter! Seriously? Out of all votes cast, yours is the unimportant one? Don’t give me that ‘it doesn’t make a difference’ or ‘my candidate didn’t win’ nonsense. Being the first drop of water doesn’t make you an ocean but with a few bajillion of your friends you are part of the Pacific! Too big? Okay, think stalactites. Those big stone things hanging in caves. Yeah, those things. They are made one drop at a time.

It takes time and consistency to get the Ship of State steering a new course but not nearly as much as you might think. No one person can just breeze in and start turning the wheel – not even the president – but that’s because it’s not supposed to be a one man job. It’s an everybody job. Not quick, not easy and sometimes not fun at all, but completely and totally doable.

Just look over the last few years. How many things that ‘would never change’ in politics have been changed? Quite a few, if you think about it. Union workers are voting Republican – most of us old school Poli Sci folks would have bet on the proverbial cow jumping over the moon while doing a backflip happening before anything union went within a country mile of the GOP.

Times, they are a ‘changin’.

Be part of the change for the better. Go vote.

NOW, you lazy whippersnapper!

P.S. Next week, after the election, I’ll be writing about Biden’s political acumen with regards to this election. I won’t give the whole thing away, but I want to be on record now that I believe Biden has displayed masterful levels of political gamesmanship since June. Yes, really. I’ll tell y’all why next week, after the election. I want to see first if it works.

Spoiler alert: I do believe it will work.