I'm 60 years old. In the 42 years I've been eligible to vote I've never missed an opportunity to cast my ballot, not when I've been ill, not when I've been out of the state--not even when I was serving my year in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. That year my ballot was colored by the red mud I was living in, but I cast my vote and I voted for every Democrat I could.
I'm not sure what has happened to the youth vote. It's never really turned out. Every election we hope you will show up and every election we are disappointed in your turnout.
Men in combat rarely fight for ideals. They fight for their lives, for the guy next to them, and even fight because we fear we might show ourselves to be cowards. there's no doubting those brave men at Valley Forge were fighting for the right to govern themselves. Those who landed on Omaha Beach were there to fight against a country and an idea that would have destroyed every democracy they could find and though the Democracy we have here is imperfect, it is much better and so much more than what we would have had if Germany could have won World War Two.
So whether the men at Valley Forge or the men on the beaches of Normandy didn't necessarily fight for your right to vote, I know for certain that this right to vote was preserved by their effort and was preserved at a terrible cost. We talk about the 58,000 plus who died in Vietnam, but that number is dwarfed by the massive death toll in World War Two, where nearly 417,000 Americans died to protect the world for the nightmare that was Nazi Germany.
We have not always been the best country and looking over the last eight years, I believe we have shown in those eight years our worst to the world. We, and I say we because no matter how much we blame the right for stealing these last two elections, the real truth is that we have allowed these elections to be so close they were in the stealing range. How could it be we could not come up with less than 600 votes in Florida for Al Gore? Yes, I know Al was not the greatest campaigner and yes I know he lost his own state, but my God, how many times do we have to learn the same lesson? Between the Nader voters and the missing youth vote, there were thousands of votes that could have given Gore the title "Landslide Al".
I say to you, the young voters of the Democratic party--this is your election to lose. I know it looks like we have it made and God knows, I'm not looking forward to standing in line here in Kentucky where we're almost sure to vote red. Most Kentuckians want the same things other people in this country want, our own homes, jobs and to be able to get our children a good education, in the hopes our children will do better than we were able to do. Maybe someday major party presidential candidates will take the time to come come to Eastern Kentucky and ask us what we need and ask us for our votes. Vote here can be won with a smile and a handshake. We just want to know our politicians care about us and know what our needs are. What's sad this year is to see the best shot we had in year to remove Mitch McConnell slip out of our hands. If only the progressive left had been willing to help us more. If half the energy and money spend on Lamont had come into Kentucky and all the strength of the netroots community had been applied in the McConnell/Lundsford race, I'm pretty sure we could have beat him this time. Who knows when we'll get a better shot, but it's time for some help. We need candidates here who don't have to self-finance. I worked with Fighting Dem Andrew Horne here in Kentucky and it's no small thing knowing he was pushed out of the race by the DSCC, because Lunsford could self-finance. I'm getting off-subject here and forgive me, but we do need some help and not just when it looks like our self-financed candidate gets close in the polls. The DSCC needs to either get in with us when we need them, at the beginning, or keep their asses out of our politics and let us figure it out. We have good candidates here, good progressive candidates, but the requirement that one also has to be a rich man is not helping field our best of show. (End of rant, sorry about that. Sometimes these things take over and write themselves,ever how poorly.)
Young people--it is your turn. It is your right and it has been paid for in the blood of patriots.
Most of all and I say this here for the first time. Plain and simple--Voting is not a right. It can be taken away from you any time. Ask black voters how it's their right to vote. They know how voter suppression works--that many of them have been denied their right to vote and they could do nothing about it.
I know a lot of us white people figure this might happen to some black guy, but it won't happen to me. If you think that way, you're wrong. Being white is not going to save our asses every time and when the country turns against us, they won't be just looking at color, they'll be looking at how you think.
If nothing else is going well in our country, the private prison business is doing very well, thank you, and poor counties are glad to have a prison right next door to their schools or anywhere in the county.
We're glad for the prisons, because they provide work and we need work bad. Our factory jobs have flown to Mexico and China, so prison jobs pay good and have benefits. I love my mountains of Kentucky but I want more for my kids that just the opportunity for my child to compete with hundreds of others in the county for three guard jobs. We have more to give to his country but we need a Democratic President, Senate and House to even get a start on the problems of Appalachia. Left to the right wing in Appalachia, they will rape us of the coal and leave the mess behind, with not a thought of what a horrible nasty mess they've made while doing nothing to clean the dead streams they've poisoned, with bad wash off water. I never understand the concept of clean coal. It's a filthy job getting the coal out of the ground and leaves nothing but desecration in it's path. Nothing clean about any coal I've seen. Worse, it takes away mining jobs needed by people who know how to do more than run a bulldozer.
If the young voters of the United State come out in big numbers, Barack Obama will absolutely be the next president of the United State. Nothing McCain or the Karl Rove can do will stop you. You can stop them into their tracks. They know how to win oe steal close elections.
The youth vote counts for everything and right now, today--your country is calling on you.
YOU MUST ANSWER THIS CALL.
The Republicans believe you will stay home today,
Go Vote Today. Prove those neo-con assholes wrong. Make that jerk Karl Rove go back to drawing board. It is your responsibility and if you blow it this time, it's your future hung out there on the line. I'm not going to be alive long enough to realize all the terrible consequences of a McCain Presidency, but you--the young people of America will live through it all. His Supreme Court picks alone will change this country into an extreme radical right fascist society that will have nothing in common with the brilliant men who wrote our Constitution. You will say goodbye to that particular piece of paper and you will have none of those protections provided in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It will be gone, gone along with the great strides we've made in the last 40 years in the areas of Civil Rights and Women's issues. Kiss all the good of that time and replace the the worst ideas we've seen since Hitler was stirring up angry German losers from World War One.
Do you want to go to war for oil? You can bet you will get your chance if McCain wins and the kind of war McCain wants to wage will take a lot more soldiers than the few we have in Iraq and Afghanistan. Don't vote and allow McCain to be elected and the next letter you get from the president is going to be your draft notice. If there was a bigger war and draft, I'm sure you'd be out in the streets protesting, and that's all fine and good, but my protesting the Vietnam war did nothing to get me out of the Vietnam War and when Uncle John points his finger at you, most of you will end up going. And while you're out is some desert far from home, fighting some other poor bastard on the other side, you'll wander what went wrong and he first thing you're gonna think is, "Maybe I should have voted."
And worse, while you're humping a ruck in 125 degree heat, scared someone is waiting to blow you all to hell by pressing a cell phone send button. George Bush's nephews and all the sons and daughters of corporate CEO, (our real royalty) will be sitting somewhere in some champagne squadron, drinking martinis and laughing at all you poor bastards in the thick of it. They'll fulfill their service, safe as milk and you'll come home, if you're not dead, or ruined for life and you'll be 2 to 10 years behind the eight ball. While the rich boys are all get their degrees in the best schools in the country, you'll be sweating it out in some state university on the GI bill. That is unless McCain follows his desires and does away with this new GI bill.
Right now this is still your country. but blow it this time and you will never get this chance again. Older people like me are not the true energy of this country anymore. We no longer drive the economy and for the most part we're done. It's is a young person's world now and it's time to live up to the duties thrust upon you. Being the adult is tough hard work and it starts in one place. It starts with voting. Not just voting in races where the candiate is a rock star like Obama, but voting every year for the Demcocrats are not people with enormous charisma, but plan folks who want to serve the country.
I'm proud of what I did in my life. I served my country and when I came home, I followed my dream of being a musician. God smiled on me and for the next 25 years I played music all over this country. I met all my heroes, played with many of them and later after I was a little road burned, I took up writing as a profession. I wrote ad copy, political speeches, (Dems only) and even sold a few screenplays to Hollywood. I've been a very fortunate man.
Now, I'm going back on the road, playing music again, starting on November 28th in Lexington, Kentucky and next year, I'm cutting a solo record for Lonesome Records, a small label in Virginia. I'm happy and lucky to have something I can do. We need the money. My wife is retired and disabled and our 401K is in shambles. A big chunk of saved money has been sucked up by outrageous medical bills, incredibly high health insurance and blow dealt to my wife's company by the fall of the stock market and the general downsizing of our economy for quite some time. We were never rich enough to stave off year after year of hard times and as work dried up, so did our money.
So, in closing, and I'm sorry for such a long diary, please get out and vote. I'm especially pleading to the young people and the first-time voters. Our future lays in your hands. You can save the country and maybe even help me get though the end of my life without losing my home or more important to me than anything--losing my dignity. We, the long-time Democratic voters have been waitng for you a long time. Every election you say, this will be your year, but if history is any indicator, we'll be left waiting for you again. So far, young people just haven't shown up.
I hope and pray you will prove me wrong today. I would be so proud of you. We have in Obama, a man who exudes greatness. Never in my lifetime have I seen such a well-qualified candidate for the office. If not now, then when. Do it. Go stand in line and make a choice that will make your long future a rosy one. If you fail then you only yourselves to blame. You have the numbers to make McCain a footnote in the history books and that's where he belongs.
So rmemember. Forget about your right to vote. Forget about it being paid for with the blood of patriots. Just remember, voting is your responsibiliy and all you have to do stand in line this one day and insure the future of your children's lives. Time passes in a flash and one day, that little baby of yours will be a full-grown, smart beautiful young woman or man, who has dreams of their own and you owe it to them that you get out and Vote For Obama. Just this one time, step up and fool the chattering class, prove them wrong. Vote today like your iife depended on it. Because your life and the lives of your children and ours do depend on you, the young people of the United States. This election and what happens is on you. I pray you will stand this test and bring our country back into our leadership postiion.
Look at England, France, Germany, all the great European countries. They look at us as if we were barbarians. Let's show them and show everyone around the world. We will be the first of the first world countries to elect a black man. Have we seen a black president of France, or a black British Prime Member, or a German President. I don't think so. We can be the first. We will be the first when you show up in the numbers I believe you will.
God bless all of young who vote today or have already voted. You are true patriots and I'm proud of you.