Get out and vote

Dear Editor,

Does anybody think that politics, or voting, doesn’t matter?

Do you know a senior? … a vet? … a health worker? … a patient? … a student? … an educator? … a poor person? Know anybody who uses birth control? … buys fuel? … breathes air? … drinks water? … needs food?

Yes, you do. Plus, you yourself breathe, drink, eat, have been a patient, and will be a senior. So, before 8:00 p.m., November 5th, please recognize the connection between life realities and politics. We all need to go mark a ballot. And bring someone else along to experience helping democracy work.

Luckily, in Wisconsin, we can register right at the polls, right on the big day. All you need is your ID and proof of address. Details are at myvote.wi.gov or 608-266-8005, or your local clerk.

The people we choose will be deciding whether to fund school lunches, internet access, rebuilding failing bridges, providing legal aid, dealing with forest fires, floods and hurricanes. They will discuss having a free press, an agency that tracks the periods of half the population, making it illegal to mention “climate crisis”, limiting price-gouging, and allowing judges and politicians to be ‘bought’ by corporations. Every detail of our lives - union membership, grocery prices, taxes, healthcare – is going to be on the table

Personally, without food stamps (SNAP), energy assistance, and the internet discount; I will be – in a measurable time – on the street. I’m not the only neighbor of yours who is secretly this poor. Most seniors, or people in poverty don’t brag about it. I know there are thousands that are in worse shape. For us, this election is crucial, decisive, essential. The effects may not be as gut-level bedrock for you, but certainly your life would change if you lost Head Start, PBS, overtime pay, ballot access, postal service, contraceptives, credit card regulation, and environmental standards. Please be a good citizen, help your country, and vote!

Peggy Peckham

Arena Village, WI