There are so many flags flying that we are, perhaps, in danger of becoming a bit oblivious to their presence. But today would be a good time to remember why the flags are flying in such numbers.
And then we can do something that supports the cause for which the flags are flying: we can vote.
In a direct sense, today’s election has nothing to do with the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001. There are no federal offices on the ballot. In reality, though, it has everything to do with what lies behind the attack. Osama bin Laden and his fanatical followers hate the notion of democracy. They are threatened by the very idea of a world in which men and women decide for themselves how to govern their lives.
In a recent message, bin Laden made a reference to the last caliphate in Turkey, which ended some 80 years ago. For him, those were the days — when civil and religious authority were one. For him and his followers, the goal is to impose a fanatical theocracy on first the Muslim world and, then, no doubt, all of creation. There would be no room for choosing who governs you, far or near.
It is an affront to such concepts that we can choose our political leaders.
We can also choose whether to take part in voting. Today, the choice is whether to take part in voting for state representatives, county council members, mayors, city council members, school board members, fire commissioners and more. Let’s make the choice to vote.
Voting won’t win a war. But it will remind ourselves, our neighbors, our communities and our service men and women that people in this part of America will go out of their way to support the democracy for which the flags wave.
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