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October 18, 1998
I've often called myself an anarchist, yet I have voted in just about every
election since I was old enough. Here are some of my reasons:
Out of respect for the work of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
Matilda Joslyn Gage, Alice Paul and all the suffragists who struggled so
long and hard to win women's right to vote. Also out of respect for Martin
Luther King, Cesar Chavez, and the civil rights workers who gave their
lives in Voters' Rights struggles.
Because you don't gather power by throwing away the power
you do have, even when it doesn't seem like enough.
Because more than thirty years of political activism have taught me that
the lesser of two evils can still be a hell of a lot better than the worser
of two evils.
This year's elections are especially crucial. Whatever we think of Clinton
and his behavior, the extreme right is using his indiscretions to mount a
vicious campaign that will remove any obstacles to their concentration of
wealth and power. If we all stay home from the polls, they will succeed and
we will be well on our way to the frightening aspects of the future I
envisioned in The Fifth Sacred Thing. If we stop them, they may learn that
campaigns of titillation and humiliation don't work.
So I urge you all this year to put aside disgust and despair, and vote.
Right now it's one of the most powerful acts we can take.
Copyright (c) 1998 by Starhawk. All rights reserved. This copyright protects Starhawk's right to future publication of her work. Nonprofit, activist, and educational groups may circulate this essay (forward it, reprint it, translate it, post it, or reproduce it) for nonprofit uses. Please do not change any part of it without permission. Readers are invited to visit the web site: www.starhawk.org.
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