civic duty

I know that standing in long lines isn't exactly everyone's favorite activities, but when I think about the history of this country, it makes me wonder why people seem to take this right for granted. I find it funny that the same people who are not willing to make the small sacrifice of going out to vote also happen to be some of the same people that complain most about their government. I also find it funny that people make such a HUGE deal about presidential elections, but don't seem to really care a whole lot about state and local elections. While I think it is very important to have a good president (he leads the entire country after all), it is also extremely important to have good senators, representatives, and other elected officials in our communities. These are the people who are directly responsible for many of the things affecting our every day lives, not the president. When we want certain bills passed or struck down, we don't write to the president. It is not the president who knows the problems and concerns of the citizens of each individual city or state. So why not spend some time figuring out who else is on the ballot this election season and making an effort to choose good local leaders (in addition to researching the presidential candidates to figure out why one would be better than the other).