Run for It

Abstract

Every election has the potential to change people’s lives, to affect the way a community operates, to determine the way a business might grow, to define what will happen in our children’s schools, to outline what can happen in the county or state, to address the needs of people, and to etch indelibly into our souls a sense of safety and security or a sense of danger and corruption. In today’s world, citizens are hungry for a sense of security in their everyday lives. They want to see their hopes realized by—rather than continually disappointed by—their elected officials. Elected officials’ poor decision making and behavior in the public and personal arenas lead to citizen disenchantment with the value of voting and disgust with anything related to government. In today’s world, protests and marches register dissent with governments. As in the past, concern for the future is driven by what is and is not happening in the present.