Okay, sports fans, get out and vote!
If you can see your way clear to do so, I’d like you to vote for me* — but from the standpoint of the society we live in, I hope you’ll at least get out and vote for someone. As Robert A. Heinlein wrote in Time Enough for Love,
If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There may be no candidates and no measures you want to vote for, but there are certain to be ones you want to vote against. In case of doubt, vote against. By this rule you will rarely go wrong. If this is too blind for your taste, consult some well-meaning fool (there is always one around) and ask his advice. Then vote the other way. This enables you to be a good citizen (if such is your wish) without spending the enormous amount of time on it that truly intelligent exercise of franchise requires.
I quote that by way of explaining that I don’t mind if you vote for me because you think I’m a swell guy or you appreciate my record of service or you like my sense of humor … or if you just happen to cast your vote in my general direction because you’re voting against one of the other folks. (This also applies if you live outside Cary’s District D, outside Cary itself, or even outside North Carolina, and you just want to write me in for some other office.)
To go along with my tongue-in-cheek approach to all things political — and especially to my own campaign — you can also vote for me for one simple reason:
(“vote no1,” by Sean MacEntee, on Flickr under Creative Commons.)
That fits, doesn’t it? After all, on my first album I sing,
Politics, that’s the life for me
It fits my arrogant, megalomaniacal personality
I’ll get my name in the papers and my face on your T.V.
And take good care of myself, my friends and my family — yes, that’s the life for me
And on my second album I follow that up with,
Politics, politics, the life I want to lead
To make sure I get what I want, and you get what you need
I may be arrogant and megalomaniacal but it’s just because I’m great
Come out and join me any time — fifty bucks a plate
You don’t mind a little arrogance and megalomania in your politics, do you? At least I’m honest about it.
Anyway, today is the day! so I should probably be a fraction more serious.
Since it’s time now to stand and be counted, don’t worry any more about spreading the word about my campaign, unless you want to pick up the phone and call your neighbor to encourage them to vote — or pick up your neighbor and bring them to vote! And if you need a reminder about what I really stand for, I wrote a few weeks ago that
- I believe the fundamental purpose of government is to preserve your (and my) rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness;
- I believe that our rights, both individual and collective in the form of the government, should not infringe on the rights of others;
- I believe that government action intended to help anyone should be carefully evaluated on the basis of who it is likely to hurt in the process, and rejected if the benefits do not justify the cost;
- I believe in being accountable, by which I mean being “able to give an account,” i.e., able to explain one’s reasoning for actions taken … and not taken;
- I believe that many if not most people who present themselves as politicians take themselves far too seriously; and
- I believe that serving in office is more important than running for office.
If any of that appeals to you, I hope you’ll consider voting for me.
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*For today’s election in particular, I’m on the ballot for Town Council in Cary’s District D.
Spending Disclosure: As of this date, my campaign has spent a total of $84.
This blog post was “paid” for, at the cost of $0 and whatever time it took Gray to write and upload it, by The Gray Man: Service, Leadership, Creativity.
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