Doing our duty

I watched an interesting -- and at times, powerful -- two hours of television last night on PBS. The two programs were part of a series called America at a Crossroads, hosted by journalist Robert MacNeil. The first looked at soldiers in the field in Iraq and what their days are like. The second talked to those who returned to the US and have written about their experiences. The poems and stories they read were quite moving.

One of the soldier/writers said, "When one signs up for the military, his fate is then in his nation's hands." This made me think about how we got into the mess in Iraq and how we elected the person who put us there. Just over 50% of those who were eligible voted in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. We always say that it is a person's "civic duty" to vote, but that isn't just a nice phrase. The fate of those who are, or who will be, in the military is dependent on an informed and active citizenry. Those who express apathy toward the electoral process are leaving decisions about the lives of millions of service members at the whim of ignorant decision makers. Shame on you.