He Voted Today

This morning my (youngest) child voted for the first time. (Ouch.)

When I talk to the students in my college history and government classes, I find that most of them are not registered to vote. The truth is that America typcially has a fairly low voter turnout compared to most of the rest of the world. And that only counts the people who are registered to vote.

Why don't most people vote? I think it's partly because they are turned off by the political process, which is frequently ugly. But it's also because they don't have parents like mine. Voting in our family was a civic duty and a sacred trust. I don't miss elections.

And I'm glad my kids want to vote. I hope they always will (and can).