Vote or be damned

It's nearly Thanksgiving, which can only mean one thing: It's time to put up Christmas decorations. The flashing lights, and talking Santas. The Douglas firs doomed to spend their last miserable days clamped mercilessly inside a wrought iron vise, gasping painfully for the last ounce of water you so graciously provided after severing their trunks from their roots. Blessed art thou who neglects the evergreens.\nBut damned be he who neglects to vote!Today is Election Day, and I know you feel a strong inclination not to vote. But you have at least as much responsibility to participate in the democratic process as you have to decorate your house for the holidays. If you spent all last week celebrating Halloween, vomiting fun-size Snickers bars onto your cheap, homemade costume, surely you can find a half an hour to cast a ballot. \nAt this point, I couldn't care less who you vote for, just so long as you vote for someone. To be perfectly honest, none of the candidates are particularly appealing, and I sympathize with your apathy. But that's all the more reason to go to the polls. The Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee are as indifferent as you are. They choose self-serving, morally bankrupt, brain-dead candidates because they know it doesn't make a difference to the public. Show the parties that you're passionate about solid leadership by turning out at the polls, even if you vote for yourself out of spite. When the national committees realize the "second-worst choice" isn't good enough for the voters, they'll find real politicians with goals, not agendas. \nIt's true that incumbents are virtually invincible, but only because many voters won't go out and vote for anyone else. This year, in fact, Indiana has three races that could go either way. The RNC has thrown nearly $3 million at Republican candidates from the 2nd, 8th and 9th districts, and all have strong Democratic challengers. To get the Dems elected, you have to vote. But in a strange catch-22, you also have to vote to defeat them. So for the love of God and all that is holy, please vote!\nI'm going to sweeten the deal a bit. I know the last election was mostly an appeal to emotional passions, and this one has been nothing but racial slurs and mudslinging. Still, choosing officials is one of the most significant decisions you'll ever make. The outcome affects you on a daily basis, whether you realize it or not. \nTherefore, for every person who casts a ballot in Indiana, I won't kill an animal on the endangered species list.\nIf you don't know where to vote but you want to do your part to save 4 million giant pandas, Bengal tigers and Florida manatees, visit www.indianavoters.com/PublicSite/Public/PublicPollingPlace.aspx. Enter your county and address, and the billions of hamster wheels endlessly spinning in Silicon Valley will point you to your closest polling station. \nHappy Super Tuesday, everyone. It's time to do the one thing that justifies your right to live in a democracy. Vote!