At the polls

[bubba]

I got quite a few stares, smiles and good comments this morning when I went to vote. What was really funny was I went to get checked in and get my ballot and the lady checking the lists already had me marked and handed me my ballot before I said a word, Her comment was " I know who YOU are" with a big smile. I guess wearing a kilt makes you pretty memorable. There wasn't one smart remark or sarcastic comment. It's all good.

[Panache]

Excellent! Pretty soon all those lobbyists in Washington will be falling all over themselves to get that all important demographic, the Kilted Vote!

Cheers

[McClef]

But will they know a donkey tartan from an elephant one!

[Dirk Skene]

If we vote as a bloc we could change the world :rolleyes:

[Bill]

message removed --doesn't fit thread --Bill

my apologies

[Retro Red]

Good for you, bubba. Seems you got that lady's "vote" of approval!

Also, good on you for voting! It's something I hope all of the American members of this forum are doing today.

The greatest threat to our democracy is not illegal immigration, corrupt politicians or even radical Islamists (though the danger from the latter is to be taken very seriously). The greatest danger to our democracy comes from an uninformed, apathetic electorate.
.

[Angus MacSpey]

The greatest danger to our democracy comes from an uninformed, apathetic electorate.
.

Agreed.

But aren't we supposed to be a republic?

[Retro Red]

But aren't we supposed to be a republic?

You say tomāto and I say tomăto…

If you care to split hairs (or hares), since we pledge allegiance “…to the Republic for which it stands…” I’ll grant that the U.S.A. is a republic, but the two terms are commonly used interchangeably. Note the great similarity in Merriam-Webster’s definition for the two words – particularly “democracy 1b” and “republic 1b.”

Main Entry: de•moc•ra•cy
Pronunciation: di-'mä-kr&-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -cies
Etymology: Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dEmokratia, from dEmos + -kratia -cracy
1 a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
2 : a political unit that has a democratic government
3 capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic party in the United States <from emancipation Republicanism to New Deal Democracy -- C. M. Roberts>
4 : the common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5 : the absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges


Main Entry: re•pub•lic
Pronunciation: ri-'p&-blik
Function: noun
Etymology: French république, from Middle French republique, from Latin respublica, from res thing, wealth + publica, feminine of publicus public -- more at REAL, PUBLIC
1 a (1) : a government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president (2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government b (1) : a government in which supreme power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected officers and representatives responsible to them and governing according to law (2) : a political unit (as a nation) having such a form of government c : a usually specified republican government of a political unit <the French Fourth Republic>
2 : a body of persons freely engaged in a specified activity <the republic of letters>
3 : a constituent political and territorial unit of the former nations of Czechoslovakia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or Yugoslavia

Bottom line for both is - if the people don't vote, no republic or democracy!
.

[bubba]

What puts the wind up my kilt is the poll workers were hoping for a 50% turnout, as though that's a GOOD thing. When half or fewer of those eligable to vote don't do so we're in serious trouble.

[Graham]

So true Bubba, the kilt ensures you are never forgotten!

I've only once been to vote in a kilt, it shows that ANYTHING can be more fun in a kilt.