A special election is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 14, at which registered voters in Pea Ridge and Garfield city limits will be asked to decide on a sales tax question.
Too often, in special elections, the voter turnout is small and a very small percentage of people decide on a question that will affect many people.
And, far too many eligible persons are registered to vote.
We have lived in a land of peace and prosperity for so long that we've taken our freedoms for granted. We complain about minor inconveniences and are disgruntled when circumstances don't go our way.
Regardless of your position on the question put before voters, get out and vote. There are five days (Sept. 7-10, 13) for early voting and then 12 hours on Tuesday, Sept. 14, during which the polls are open. It's not only your right, your privilege, but your responsibility!
If you pay any attention to world news, you would realize that many people in other countries face oppression and do not have the freedoms offered here, freedoms for which many good men and women have fought.
This generation is far removed from the days of fighting for our rights but over the past 200 years, American citizens have fought not only for the right to vote, but for women, for anyone who wasn't a white male property owner to vote.
This fall, in Pea Ridge, we will have the opportunity to vote for mayor, city clerk and two City Council members. These are the people who make the decisions that affect our city, our tax revenues that provide the infrastructure we all use. Far too few people show interest, either by stepping up and running for the seat or by voting when there are candidates.
Register to vote!
And, exercise that right, that responsibility, to vote!
See ya' at the polls.
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Editor's note: Annette Beard is the managing editor of The Times of Northeast Benton County, chosen the best small weekly newspaper in Arkansas for five years. A native of Louisiana, she moved to northwest Arkansas in 1980 to work for the Benton County Daily Record. She has nine children, six sons-in-law, a daughter-in-law, nine grandsons and four granddaughters. The opinions expressed are those of the author. She can be reached at [email protected].