Minority running town of Dracut
For most people, the news about Monday’s elections in Dracut was more about who got voted in or out—absolutely important but not what struck me about the race. For me, a disturbing aspect of the election was the fact that less than 25% of eligible voters even bothered to participate. That means town leadership—the people making decisions about taxes, police, fire and the schools, which will directly impact the lives of every Dracut resident—was determined by a small minority of people. Am I the only one alarmed by this trend? Yesterday, at my favorite local coffee shop, I expressed these concerns to the young people making my brew, only to become further distressed. Both Mary, who is 20 and grew up in the Highlands, and John, who is 19 and grew up in Belvidere, (not their real names) proudly announced that they were not registered to vote, nor did they have any intention of voting, ever. “Why bother?” noted John. “My vote won’t make a difference.” When I protested that every vote did matter and gave specific examples of close local races in recent memory, John pointed out that it definitely didn’t matter in national elections. Without replaying the entire argument, it was his parting comment that really got me: “Maybe I’d vote if there were honest politicians who actually did what they promised to do.” Obviously John didn’t know I was on the school committee, but as you can imagine, I felt inclined to defend myself and every other person who has done what I consider an act of great courage–that is, put your name on the ballot and run for office. As I drove away, I couldn’t help thinking that our schools have not done enough to teach citizenship and what a privilege it is to be able to vote. Later that day, my fifth-grade daughter was studying for a test on the American Revolution, and memories of Paul Revere, the Boston Tea Party, the battles at Lexington and Concord, and the Intolerable Acts crowded my mind. (As you may recall: “taxation without representation is tyranny.”) It was particularly coincidental and poignant to think about how those people whose acts of courage (and treason) over 200 years ago would feel about today’s apathy. It was then that I realized the problem is not entirely with the schools. Dracut, unfortunately, is not alone as a community with low voter turnout; Lowell only had about 27% voter participation in its last election, and the trend continues nationally. If the adults in our communities are not modeling citizenship, how can we expect our young people to value it? And even more terrifying, if we do not wake up as a community: pay attention, get involved, and participate as is our right and duty as members of a democracy, what will become of us?