I’m Generation X – Who Cares?

The other day my husband and I were conducting our usual morning political discourse over coffee and the local newspaper. We have to begin at 5 a.m. so that we don’t have the constant interruptions of our children but at least we are making it a priority to keep informed and articulate our viewpoints. He lamented that he may as well not vote in the upcoming presidential election, given the likely choice of candidates form which we may have to choose. Some days I feel exactly the same. What’s the point? If I had to choose, on election day, between going to the gym or going to vote, which one would win out?

Then I think about all the small voices that over time and tribulation became the large voice that was able to impart the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920—the right for women to vote. Because of this, I am obligated to vote, if not for any message I may be trying to send to Washington or Austin but then certainly for the message to my three daughters and one son that voting is the least of my civic obligations as a proud citizen of the United States of America. So many people want to come here to be afforded the opportunities we take for granted—and we won’t even vote? It is truly shameful, if viewed in that context.

I was reading recently at bedtime from one of my generations’ (and all generations, for that matter) greatest authors—Dr. Seuss. We were reading that fantastic fable Horton Hears a Who!, soon to be released as a major motion picture. If you recall, Horton has adopted a clover that contains a marvelous community of tiny people called “Who-Ville.” In one of the last scenes, Horton, who has shepherded this clover through countless trials is faced with the prospect that his clover will be dropped into a pot of hot oil by all the disdainful non-believers. Horton—in a great effort—summons the mayor of Who-Ville to get every voice to cheer and jeer—to make a sound to let these doubters know that they do indeed exist, even though they are very small in size and numbers. The mayor finds one silent voice amidst all the noise and he implores this tiny lad “We’ve GOT to make noises in greater amounts! So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!”