From the Right Corner: Voter Apathy? Simple, really.

Democracy can be a strange and wonderful thing. Most of us are regaled during our school years of an American history that stands as a shining monument to the rest of the world as a beacon of freedom and a template for “How To Do It.”

The sacrifice by thousands of Americans… the sentiment by Thomas Jefferson that "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." The memorials to those who’ve ultimately sacrificed for the preservation of this Nation. We’ve seen the Iwo Jima Memorial… the Vietnam Memorial. Hundreds of thousands who’ve paid the ultimate price for our ability to vote... because, in part, they believed our vote actually mattered.

Because, I, personally, find it difficult to believe that anyone who died for this country… From 1774 to this day… died for the right of the Courts to overturn initiatives, or for the Washington State Legislature to ignore the expressed will of the people, or for the City of Vancouver to sue their citizenry to keep them from expressing an opinion at the ballot box.

Let’s take a look at just some of the list, shall we? The courts kicked out I-695, and the Republican-controlled Legislature lacked the guts to implement all of it, instead, just hitting the high point of $30 tab fees. They lacked the guts to implement the OTHER part of I-695… the part where we, the people, would be allowed to vote on any tax or fee increase.

An immediate result of that was the Republican-controlled senate ramming a nickel gas tax down our throats without a vote.

Our primary system, voted into place in the early 1940’s? Hijacked and torpedoed by the political parties of this state because the Legislature refuses to take control of those parties. Initiative 601, requiring a 2/3rds vote to raise taxes in the Legislature? Ignored, abused and now, soon to be eliminated.

Initiative 728 and 732… Class room size and pay raises for teachers. Completely ignored by the Legislature.

Here locally, the government of the City of Vancouver twice sued their own citizens to keep them from having a voice in the issue of a city-owned, downtown boondoggle.

There is a certain arrogance to all of this. In fact, a then-city-councilman-now-legislator once told me that, in effect, arrogance came with the territory.

Unfortunately, the “arrogance” factor seems to include Government’s increasingly obvious ability to ignore the will of the people.

And that includes the alleged “citizen-legislature,” our Government’s courts and even egregious actions by local City Councils.

The next time you hear about voter apathy remember this: the biggest reason for voter apathy is that people have become increasingly convinced that their vote doesn’t matter. And once people come to believe that something “doesn’t matter,” then don’t expect them to participate.

Simple, really.