By:John C. O'Connell
Though time and wind blow the clouds of smoke and debris-dust away from lower Manhattan, it will be tears raining from so many tired, tortured faces that gradually, ultimately dampen the billowing plumes of pain.
Death came harshly and terribly last week. The initial shock and trauma have now turned into an overwhelming grief and search for answers.
While the government searches for ways to better
protect us, and devises strategies and tactics to rid the world of the evil-doers, we do what we can as brothers and sisters to unite for the sake of our own well being.
One thing we can do to spite those who would deny us liberty is to exercise our freedoms. And one of our most cherished freedoms, one too few people appreciate enough to actually do, is voting.
Primary elections in New York State, including the Democrat Party's primary here in Nassau for county executive, had been scheduled for Sept. 11, that awful day of murderous horror and so many heroes.
That primary has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 25, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in your usual general election polling places.
It is so very important that Democrats go out to vote for the candidate of their choice. Whether it's a vote for Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli or Glen Cove Mayor Thomas Suozzi, the critical thing is that everyone who is eligible to vote ought to.
The reason is much graver than just simple voter participation in a political party's decision about who will represent them against the other party's man in November.
We must show that we care about who leads us. We must announce loudly by a huge show of votes that we Americans are now fully engaged in our government at all levels.
Democrats must turn out in the biggest numbers ever to demonstrate a commitment to the process and an activism about the democratic way.
No matter whom you like in the county executive race, every registered Democrat has a duty to go to the polls and vote. And in November, no matter whom you like in the general election, all registered voters have a duty to vote. And every eligible citizen has a duty to register to vote.
Who gets elected is beside the point. The point is that if we can't get off our duffs and go to a polling place and vote, if we can't sacrifice a few minutes to cast our ballots, if we even see it as a sacrifice of our time instead of a tremendous privilege earned by struggle and death at the Revolution and re-earned by the struggle and death of America's soldiers throughout our history, maybe we've come to take our great liberty, our great country, for granted.
After such a day as none of us have ever known, after such a week of fearing, crying and trying to be strong, we must see this as the time for democratic, patriotic action. And voting is the quintessential democratic action.
If we fail to take such action now to live our liberty, if we think what each of us does isn't important, if we think who leads us, even at the county executive level, doesn't really matter, then hold on tight; our worries have just begun.
