An Editorial by Karole Passmore
Years ago our mother, Linda, couldn’t have cared less about politics. Like many people she voted regularly, but she didn’t spend much time mulling over her choices. She voted her party and that was all the information she needed.
However, our mother passed in August leaving us with her legacy of having become an avid political force. Four years ago Mom worked the phones calling people to remind them to vote. She made sure everyone in our family understood her positions and challenged them to think about the issues. She was inspired by her candidate and her concerns about the elderly, medical costs, equality of opportunity and so many more issues that hit close to home.
Mom was 74 when she passed, and had more enthusiasm for her convictions politically than many of us who are much younger. So her message is this: it is never too late to get excited about the impact that government can make on us as a nation or in our own communities, and our part in that impact as we vote.
As she was dying of cancer, Mom could still muster up the energy for a quick debate, albeit in a raspy voice. Her courage and dedication during the last two years of her life have given all of us the determination to carry on her mission to be present and aware of issues that concern us. On Facebook I wrote that I voted and that my vote was for “my daughter’s future and my mothers memory.”
I will never again be able to be complacent or say it is too overwhelming or that I am too busy to participate.
By our mother’s bed where she took her last breaths was a picture of the First Family. She had gotten a postcard from the First Lady thanking her for her support in response to a letter we had sent about Mom’s failing health. It was important for her to go out of this life with her convictions next to her.
This is not to promote a particular party or to entice anyone to vote a certain way. My point is that our Mom truly believed in her well-thought-out and informed choices which could determine the path of our future in the long and short run. If she could have hung on long enough to vote again, she would have done it. It was that important to her.
So as you decide whether to vote this year or not, or if you can’t make a clear choice- think of our Mom. Vote because you can. Vote because someday you won’t be able to. Vote because it is your right. And vote because you care about the future of your family.
We voted this year in memory of our beloved mother- who can you vote in memory of?
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