Maintain right to gripe

Sat., Nov. 1, 2014

About 60 years ago, when I was very young, my oldest sister was still living at home. She was a telephone operator at the time. She came home quite angry that her union was going on strike. She didn’t want to go on strike.

My pop asked her how she voted on the strike vote. She hadn’t voted. So my pop said, “Sit down and shut up. If you didn’t vote, you have no right to gripe.”

That lesson stuck with me. As soon as I got back from Vietnam after turning 21 (the legal age at that time), I registered to vote, and have voted in every election since then. Most the time, I vote for the candidate I hate the least; sometimes I actually vote for someone, but rarely.

So get out and vote to maintain your right to gripe.

Mike Storms

Spokane

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