The United States does not have an official religion, but it does have a civic religion that involves a ritual.
One is expected to vote because people died so you could cast a ballot for whomever. Is that sufficient?
I have been around more years than I admit too so I have heard that many times and it elicits a yawn every time.
In none of the wars that our nation has been involved in has the stated casus belli been the right to vote. If someone died in battle it was not so his descendants could go down to the polling place and put an x next to the chosen candidate.
The planes of 911 did not crash into the towers so we would never vote again. Al Qaeda did not care about that.
Many years ago, I saw an article with the headline, "Voting is like cheering" and it evoked a smile, but the piece was all too soon forgotten.
As time goes on, the statement seems to ring true, more and more as partisanship becomes shriller.
The truth is few really care. Oh, they may go to the polls or mail in a ballot, but there is, if one is honest, little sacrifice in the effort and no one is ever called out on it.
One should be a little more nuanced in the effort, caring might exist, but it is not crucial in life.
To illustrate, My late and good friend Dick Vaughan told how his father spoke to his children about their sacred duty to vote. His father had served in both world wars and had comrades who would never get the privilege to cast a ballot post-war. He told me he shared his dad's sentiment.
In one of the cable TV shows we did together, I asked if he would forego voting for a certain sum of money. He was no liar and freely admitted that for a sufficient sum, he would not participate in the election day sacrament.
The truth is, I have not met anyone who would not vote if the douceur was sufficient.
This is more than understandable. When questioned about any vote one has made, I would doubt anyone would say their life was made better or worse by the ballot cast. I know there has never been one in my life. The victor would have one and the defeated would have lost with or without my vote.
Still, tomorrow I shall go to the Senior Citizen Center and cast the ballot. The venue is not out of the way and I'll probably meet up with some folks I don't often see. Otherwise, it will change nothing.
There are people who will say ranked choice voting will fix it or proportional representation will see a more responsive government.
It's a touching faith, but if you believe your elected rep or senator under any technique of balloting is going to take your phone call before the president of Lockheed or Moderna, please don't vote.