Rocking is the Vote?
Call me a conservative cynic, but I have never been a big believer in the whole drive to get people to vote.
I never liked it when MTV would have drives, and I was always insulted when movie stars and musicians told me how important voting was.
I remember watching a voting special from the 1970s with John Denver and Cass Elliott. As I recall, the message was "we don't care who you vote for, just vote."
That may have been an MTV rallying cry as well.
But I always felt these forms to "rock the vote" sent entirely the wrong message. Just like college, tattoos, and spandex, voting isn't for everybody.
That came out wrong. Let me amend.
I think everyone has the right to vote. But there's also a level of responsibility that comes with it.
The message should never have been "just vote." It should have been "get educated, then vote."
Learn about the candidates. Match their beliefs to your own. Voting for someone because you think it would be cool to have a wrestler in office is your right, but it's not very good use of it.
And remember that anyone who says "I don't care who you vote for," is telling a lie.
Two years ago, a music personality had a slogan that implored people to "vote or die."
Again, wrong message. There will be certain races that I won't vote in this year. Not because I'm lazy, but because I don't like either candidate that much (see Ohio's governor race).
The point is it's important to vote. But just showing up and randomly pulling levers is not good enough.
Voting is very important. But it's not a one step process.
Rocking the vote is fine. Shocking the vote? I'm not so sure.