Democracy is key to the American experience. You have the right to vote, and most of you exercise that right. This gives us equal say when choosing the persons to best represent our interests.
For many of us, voting is more than a right. It’s a duty. And after weeks (or was it months?) of nonstop television ads, radio clips, and mailings, we were happy to get it over with. That duty has been fulfilled. It’s now time to kick back and relax until 2016, right?
Wrong. Our system of governance allows countless opportunities for you to participate. Join a sign-on letter. Contact your local officials. Attend a hearing. These may all lack the popular appeal of November voting, but each can have an impact far greater than the ballot box.
One such opportunity expires on December 1 and will play a big part in determining the health of you, your children, and grandchildren for years to come.
Over the next three weeks we each have a chance to support first-ever limits on carbon pollution. There are already limits on mercury, arsenic, and lead. But there are no such limits for carbon, the catalyst behind an increasingly unpredictable climate. That’s wrong.
More Americans than you think are concerned with climate change. Climate deniers are only 8 percent of the population. Unfortunately, they are often the loudest. Join the majority of citizens concerned about future prosperity and quality of life and express support for this historic step. Visit www.cfra.org/ clean-energy to learn how.
Johnathan Hladik
Center for Rural Affairs
Lyons, Nebraska
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