MISS BLISS DIDN’T VOTE AND THAT’S A GOOD THING

As reported last week, Grand Rapids mayor George Heartwell endorsed youth over experience in this year’s City Commission race in the 2nd Ward.  His nod went to youngster Rosalynn Bliss over oldsters Shaula Johnston and Art Kroon.  On Friday the Grand Rapids Press followed up with its usual campaign season article on the record of voter participation of the candidates for local office.  It found that Miss Bliss made it to the polls only six times out of the past twenty-three elections, whereas her elderly opponents each missed only a handful of elections.

Apparently among right-thinking folks not voting is a bad bad thing.  I suspect that’s doubly so for Miss Bliss, a self-identified progressive who believes that the government (i.e., taxpayer dollars) is the solution to most of life’s problems.  However, I’m not so big on voter participation.  If you don’t know what the hell is going on in an election, you shouldn’t be in the voter booth pulling a lever.  Most young people pay no attention to the candidates or issues in a typical election, especially local ones.  Of those who have, too many merely parrot slogans they’ve picked up from those who have influenced them (let’s say a self-righteous banker turned preacher turned mayor).  So, I actually think it’s a good thing that most twenty-somethings never make it to a polling station.

Miss Bliss doesn’t put it quite my way.  Her excuse:  “You’re creating your space in the world, developing roots.  As you feel more connected, you feel you need to get involved.  With age, it’s true, we learn how important voting is.”  Well, that’s, um, very organic.  But her last statement sums it up correctly.  Voting is too important to encourage to the polls people who have paid no attention to public matters.  If Miss Bliss avoided the polls until recently because she had other things to do in her callow youth than follow the to-and-fro of politics, good for her.  She did the honorable thing by not casting ballots in ignorance.  A decent respect for democracy demands nothing less.