LeftOut
by Darly Moore

Gloating and Whining Allowed
But only if you voted

By the time this article runs (which was written in the midst of the October election deadheat), George W. Bush will have vindicated his father's loss to a philandering president who was impeached by Congress but avoided conviction by the Senate. Al Gore will have inherited the presidency from a man who lied about having sex with a thong-wearing intern who kissed "it" and then told us about "it." Or, Ralph Nader will have won in a landside after Bush and Gore were caught in compromising positions with some other species.

Whatever the outcome, some of us will have elected a new president. Others of us will have voted for the losers. And an embarrassingly large percentage of us will not have voted at all.

For those who did not vote, sit back for the next four years and watch the results of your indifference. But do not complain about what is or what might have been had you voted.

Your inability to complain is best summed up by a small sign my parents hung above our back door in 1967. It stated simply, "The Man Who Does Not Vote Is A Slave To The Man Who Does." This missive is not gender neutral. It may not be politically correct. This missive may not be gender neutral or politically correct. But it succinctly recognizes that those of us who did not vote have handed our destinies over to those who did.

If Bush is president, non-voting gays and lesbians who are fired from their jobs solely because of their orientation should remember that their president opposes nondiscrimination laws which include sexual orientation because he believes they give "special rights" to gays and lesbians. Non-voting women who find themselves pregnant as the result of consensual sex with someone other than their father or brother should remember that their president believes that a woman only has the right to choose should she be a victim of rape or incest. And non-voting blacks who find themselves in the back of police cars solely because of the color of their skin should recall that their president believes that racial profiling is not a problem that requires the attention of the federal government.

If Gore is president, non-voting parents who want to send their children to private schools with government vouchers should recall that their president believes that the government should fund only public education. Non-voting workers who want to opt out of Social Security and open private retirement accounts instead should recall that their president believes they should be forced to participate in Social Security, irrespective of whether it will be around when they retire. And non-voting individuals who run their own businesses and cannot afford to hire additional workers should recall that their president supports an increase in the minimum wage.

If Nader is president, then corporations, insurance companies, the oil industry, polluters, and trial lawyers will wish they could retrieve all the greenbacks they had poured into the Bush and Gore campaigns. The Green Party is not amused at their attempts to buy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Nonetheless, if you voted, whether it was for Bush, Gore, or Nader, you have reserved the right to pontificate about the State of the Union for the next four years. If you voted for the winner and are happy with his performance, you may gloat -no matter how unattractive gloating is. If you voted for the loser and are unhappy with the winner's performance, you may whine-no matter how unappealing whining is.

But if you did not vote, you should step to the back of the bus and endure the four-year ride. Because those of you who failed to vote are slaves to the gloaters and whiners who did.

Writing from the liberal end of the spectrum, Houston attorney Daryl Moore has a general practice and is board certified in civil appellate law. He can be reached at DarylMoore@outsmartmagize.com.