As Election Day dawns, final tallies of money spent on the 2012 campaign are appearing. In a country where a dollar is sometimes taken as a measure of all things, it’s worth remembering that these billions have been expended in the hope of bending the great will that collectively lies with the American people.
That’s right, fellow citizens: at the end of the campaign, it all comes down to you. The special interests, the media, the national parties, the consultants: in the end they’re all equally powerless. It’s up to you to get out and vote today. Ignore the cynics: your action—no matter where you live—is an expression of power that remains awesome and singular. No matter who has the money or how it’s spent, the voter’s mind and heart are where power lives.
So get out and exercise your power today: vote for the best men and women, and may the best of them win!
Image: Lyndon Johnson signing the 1965 Voting Rights Act as Martin Luther King Jr. and others look on, from this source.
Yup, when all is said and done, money can’t buy an election. The editions of my local paper and some local news coverage ran a number of stories of different candidates spending huge amounts and losing. . . . Your essay was well put.
Sam–thank you. The money element clouds the fact that voters still do care about ideology and constructive ideas.