Tales from the Quarter By Debbie Lindsey
Please, No Excuses
O
FEED ME
SOMETHIN’, MISTER!
FA M O U S G U L F C O A S T C U I S I N E
IN THE HEART OF THE FRENCH QUARTER 620 Decatur St, Jackson Square, French Quarter • www.LandrysSeafood.com @LandrysSeafoodHouse
@LandrysSeafoodHouse
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April Issue | Where Y'at Magazine
kay, listen up. Due to COVID-19 and the delays it has triggered, you still have time to register to vote. For more updates: sos.la.gov/ElectionsAndVoting/ Vote/VoteEarly/Pages/default.aspx The April 4 Presidential Preference Primary and Municipal Primary Election will be postponed until June 20. Early voting will be conducted June 6 through June 13 (excluding Sunday, June 7). The General Municipal Election originally scheduled for May 9 will be held on July 25. Early voting will be conducted July 11 through July 18 (excluding Sunday, July 12). Now is the time to get informed and to encourage friends and neighbors to turn out to vote this June 20. And due to the rescheduling of elections, you still have time to register. I am assuming you give a damn, that you have already registered to vote or will do so—unless you miss the deadline due to amnesia or abduction by aliens, or if you’re in witness protection and didn’t realize you would be sent to live here and can’t produce fake credentials in time. If any of these reasons prevent registering, then volunteer to help get folks to the polls that day. Use social media to remind friends about this important election. Donate money or time to the candidate you care the most about. But do get yourself ready to vote come November. Is our presidential election process a bit confusing? Would you have trouble explaining it to the Martian who abducted you? Hell yeah. But sometimes, you must trust that your voice, your vote, your citizenry means something. Do I fully understand how a plane can defy gravity and transport me through the air? No. But I certainly will board that plane for my next vacation. Do I understand how beer becomes beer—could I make a pint myself? No. But I will support my bartender, buy a mug, and drink it with confidence. And, damn it, far too many folks through the years have fought and even died so that I could have this right to have a say in my government, my country, my life. So, if those people felt that the vote was worth risking their lives for (regardless of the system’s flaws or confusion), then that’s good enough for me. Let’s honor their efforts and sacrifices and take the time to vote. I will have much to say about turning up to vote for November 3, 2020, in future columns, but, for now, I would like to have your attention, your valuable time, to make my pitch for June 20. Come show your engagement in a free society. I have heard every conceivable excuse for not voting and, frankly, each one is lame, lazy, uninformed, and downright selfish. You have a moral imperative to vote in the presidential election/the general election/ the election that determines if Trump will be voted out of a second term. Oh yeah,
there is a tremendous chance he will win in November—do not think otherwise for even a minute. A person can think all day long that his or her vote doesn’t matter, and, all the while, the other team (Trump supporters) knows that it does, and they do come out to vote. Someone is gonna win the White House— why not our team? Don’t you want to be able to look yourself in the mirror and know that you tried your best to make our world a better place? Think of voting as being a Good Samaritan. If you drove past a car wreck or a person collapsing to the ground clutching his chest, you would offer assistance and/ or call 911. So let’s think of the state of our world as dire and in need of our attention. And consider the candidate of your choice as that EMT needed to save us—or, at least, to contribute to making our situation healthier and safer. I realize that I am addressing those who are not in support of the current president and that perhaps I should consider the reader here who might be across the political aisle from me. However, I make no apologies to anyone who is still a Trump supporter because this president has proven himself unworthy of you. But I will commend you for at least taking a stand and believing in the power of your vote. Certainly, I wish I could change your opinion, your vote, but that is what our democracy is all about—you have a right to vote as you see fit. It is the apathetic citizens, the lazy or the totally uncaring people, whom I wish to shake until they wake up and participate. Since I doubt that I have the means or even the right to impose my views upon my Republican and Trump-supporting readers, I will return to those who share with me a moderate or left-leaning ideology. It is time to pick the best and most likely candidate to beat Trump at our polls June 20. And if you are visiting our fair city while reading this, then I assume you already know the date for your primary, if, in fact, it has not already been held. Every state has different dates and details to be aware of. Simply google for more information. And remember that you have the power to effect change. If everyone who cares went out and motivated one other person to vote, then our numbers at the polls would double. Think about this: How many friends do you have? How many co-workers, neighbors, customers, students, family members do you know who are indifferent about voting or not yet registered? Inspire them, inform them, and if you garner just one new voter (if we all enlist just one new voter), then there you go—twice the voter turn-out. Now go forth and be a fully engaged citizen. Remember that there is strength in numbers. We can do this!
