By State Sen. Daryl Schmitt (R-Jasper)
This year we celebrate America’s 250th Birthday, a celebration of what our very first president George Washington called our “great experiment.” Throughout our history, our nation has survived many challenges – a Civil War that almost destroyed everything the founding fathers worked so hard to build, two world wars, Vietnam, the Cold War and terrorist attacks.
Through it all, the American people have come together, and our fragile democracy has stood strong against these threats. As we come upon Election Day, I think it is vital we remember these trials and how important it is that we exercise our right to vote.
Millions of people around the world do not have that right – a right I think many of us take for granted. Thousands of Americans have sacrificed their lives to protect that right. It is important that we remember this, and that we exercise our patriotic duty to participate in the electoral process and make our voices heard. Our “great experiment” can only survive if we are active participants. The late Father Theodore Hesburgh, the former President of the University of Notre Dame, said it well: “voting is a civic sacrament.” So be grateful you live in a nation that protects your right to participate in the electoral process – and get out and vote.
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State Sen. Daryl Schmitt (R-Jasper) represents Senate District 48,
which includes Crawford, Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike and Spencer counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
