100th anniversary of women's right to vote poster

#VOTE! It is a Privilege and a Responsibility

Truthfully I, like many people right now, feel exhausted by the anger and negativity of politics.  I will admit to keeping my head in the sand and avoiding the news.  But, I am DONE being an ostrich.I am writing this because I must use whatever voice I have to urge, encourage, cajole, and maybe even compel* my friends, family, patients, clients, colleagues, and mere acquaintances to #VOTE!  I could say that I don’t even care who all of these people vote for, but that would be a lie.  I do, most definitely care…

This election marks the 100th anniversary of WOMEN voting.  Remarkable, right?  It has only been since 1920 that women have had the RIGHT to express their opinions in the voting booths of the United States of America.We have spent the last four years watching our reputation as a country erode.  We have gone from being a great nation, admired and emulated by the world, to a country whose moral compass seems to be spinning in circles of confusion and whose leadership is mocked by the other leaders of the world.

How can this be?  The people of this country are goodness itself.  We are all, but a very tiny minority of us, immigrants and descendants of immigrants. Our variety is the fabric of this great country.  Disagreeing is in our heritage because disagreeing with the status quo is a requirement to leave a homeland to seek a better future somewhere else… here.  But now that we are citizens, can we not come together and vote to agree to work together to be civil in our disputes and our insistence on making our country one that respects individual rights while acknowledging that a social contract** is necessary to have a society!  I am going to get off of that soap box and get back onto my original stage.I am asking anyone who has read this far to text the following to at least 3 people: “Hey, are you registered to vote?  Click Here to register via the Internet!” (https://vote.gov)

Encourage people you know to ask/register to vote by mail if they are not sure that they can get to their polling place on November 3rd.  I have been voting by mail for at least 10 years and love that it is easy to vote at home and just drop my ballot in a blue mailbox, as soon as I get my ballot.In patriotism and solidarity with my community,Marisha Chilcott, MD*It’s true, I told my personal trainer that I would not pay her again until she registered to vote!**

The existence of fire departments requires a social contract that we each individually contribute financially to make sure that the help we hope to not need, but might someday need, will be there for us, or our family, or our entire neighborhood.  Professional firefighting is a socialist notion!  So, by the way, are roads, government-vetted medications, and emergency rooms.