No vote, voice: Low primary vote totals indicative of real problem today

We don't want to lecture.

We make mistakes here, too. We get busy and neglect responsibilities we know we should take more seriously -- just like you.

But we must admit that we were taken aback by one simple fact this week.

Less than 2,000 people of about 36,000 residents of Goldsboro decided who would run for the mayor's seat in their city. And an even more appallingly small number decided who would run for the District 4 seat on the Goldsboro City Council.

We won't even bother to figure the percentage -- it is frightening.

Low turnouts for primaries are nothing new. In fact, in some cases, it is why so many unlikely candidates run and why so many public initiatives seem to appear on ballots in off-year elections.

And while the number of voters in presidential election years is better -- it is still dismal.

And we won't go into how important those elections are -- just take a look back at the last four.

There is a lot of talk today about what is wrong with America -- and there are lots of answers, including poverty, greed, crime, federal programs, education, lack of personal responsibility, too many distractions, complacency.

But by far the most important, and the most concerning, can be summarized in one word -- apathy.

Too many people are too willing to abdicate their right to choose, their voice, their vote.

They do not care what happens in their community, their state or their country.

They don't vote, not because they are busy, but because it is not a priority.

And the politicians know it.

That is why, when the health care debate began in earnest, one of the advisers who was charged with creating it felt so comfortable talking about how easy it was was to get things by the American public.

What he said was offensive, but he was right.

And he did not expect anyone to hear what he said, either. That is why he said it.

There are hundreds of reasons we could give you to try to convince you that your vote and your voice matter.

And in a military town, we can add one more -- servicemen and women have died trying to protect the rights we so easily set aside and to give them to citizens of countries where they do not exist and are a cherished commodity.

That should be enough to motivate anyone to take a few minutes out of their day to pay attention to what is going on in their community and to cast their vote when there is a ballot to consider.

What happens when a community is apathetic? What happens when no one speaks up, pays attention or helps set the course for the future?

Well, the answer is simple -- a small group of bureaucrats, public officials or, in some cases, activists take over.

Well-meaning or not, honest or with agendas to advance, they are the ones who decide.

And that is how you get a city like Washington, D.C., full of people who do what they think best, often without regard for what the rest of the country thinks or wants.

But that concern hits locally, too.

The truth is that Wayne County and Goldsboro are full of people with much to contribute.

Their thoughts are intelligent and their potential to effect change in their communities is tremendous.

They accomplish great things when they put their minds to something.

It is what makes this county so special.

We cannot afford to sit back and to let a small handful of people determine the course of this community's future.

It is not the right thing to do for our community and for our children and grandchildren.

We have to model for them that this country was built on the principle that the people should have the loudest and the strongest voice.

There is another election coming in a few more weeks -- and it is an important one.

Let's see if we can get as many people as possible to take part in the debates that lead up to it and at the polls, to signal that this community is watching, listening and cares who makes the decisions.

And maybe, just maybe, we can set a standard that will take a real bite out of that apathy before our voices really don't matter anymore.

Published in Editorials on October 11, 2015 12:51 AM