We all have our reasons ... or should

By JoAnne Young 

I took a walk this July 4^th morning through a quiet Lincoln neighborhood and for most of the hour thought about my adventures in the America I have lived in since birth, throughout my 18 years as the daughter of an Air Force sergeant, and the ups and downs of adulthood, as a woman and as a journalist. 

One thing stood out: For the vast majority of those years, I have been a voter, the privilege of our American culture. I am aware that some working journalists don’t vote, to maintain a stance of objectivity, and because they don’t want their names on a list that political parties can see. 

I have been a registered Independent for a number of years, my strong preference. I have at times registered as a party affiliate – in one or the other -- in order to vote in a local primary election, but wasn’t happy that I could not do that as an Independent.

But I’m not willing, even as a journalist, to give up my vote. I have many reasons. 

* I saw two houses on my morning walk where at one a woman came out of her front door to collect a newspaper lying on the porch. And at the other, a man sat on his patio reading a newspaper. I wanted to yell from the street, “thank you, for wanting to be an informed citizen, for whatever reason.” Instead, I thanked them silently, and crossed my fingers that people will continue to understand the importance of local journalism. 

I vote to maintain freedom of the press. 

* About 88 percent of Nebraska residents rely on groundwater to provide their drinking water. In addition, the state has 30 threatened or endangered species: plants, animals and birds. Other endangered birds migrate through the state. The top environmental concerns in this country and the world are biodiversity, water pollution, deforestation and climate change. 

I vote for the future of my children and grandchildren. 

* In my 14 years of covering the Nebraska Legislature, I have heard a lot of speeches by Sen. Ernie Chambers about the discrimination and threats, and treatment by police of people in his north Omaha legislative district, and beyond. For those who say they weren’t aware of the suffering of people of color in this state, they have only had to pay attention to the debates and hearings in their Capitol, broadcast live every day. 

I vote in the hope of fair treatment for all and to end racism.

* The United States is in the middle of a pandemic and not faring so well, with COVID-19 surging in the majority of states and threatening the lives and wellbeing of many people.

I vote to put people in office who believe in science. 

* When ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment came up again last year, I looked up Nebraska legislative transcripts to find out why my state was one of the first in 1972 to ratify the amendment to the Constitution, and then in 1973 the first to rescind that vote. Sen. Richard Proud of Omaha led the way on the withdrawal of ratification, saying: “If you ask a woman what the Equal Rights Amendment will do for her, how it will help her, she has no answer, and the reason she has no answer is because the Equal Rights Amendment will not help her.” Women, he went on, would lose their legal protections, like financial support from husbands. They would be able to keep their own names upon marriage. "No country puts women on a pedestal as the United States does," Proud said. “They can pretty well get their way on about anything they want.” He implored senators – Shirley Marsh the only woman among them – to follow the wishes of the people, not the minority of “Women Libbers.” And so senators voted 31-17 to withdraw ratification. 

I vote to ensure women have as equal say about their lives as men do about their own. 

There are many people in this state and country who don’t vote. This year, out of 1.2 million registered voters in Nebraska, less than half, 40.5%, voted in the primary. 

In the 2018 Nebraska primary, less than 25% voted. In the general election, that rose to 58%. But only 36% of voters ages 18-29 went to the polls. That’s an improvement over the 20% who voted in 2014. But don’t they have the most to gain or lose in their future? 

As a journalist, I give up my right to have public opinions. And as long as I work, I am content with that. 

But voting? It's a 100-year-old right I won't surrender.