Top 5 Reasons to Vote in the 2022 Midterm Elections

1.   Voting is not just a right and a responsibility but also an opportunity for thanksgiving. Think of Russia, China, Iran, most Middle Eastern countries and other repressive countries where voting is either non-existent or a cruel joke with pre-determined outcomes. Yes, we have our own problems - gerrymandering, arcane laws (popular vote versus electoral college), suffrage suppression for the marginalized, bankrolling of candidates by moneyed interests, unchecked corporate power - but these are insignificant compared to countries where the “will of the people” is an oxymoron and where citizens languish or die in prison for daring to dream of democracy. We vote not only to decide the kind of government we want at all levels but also to express our gratitude for living in a free and pluralistic country, however flawed.

2 2. Casting the ballot makes a difference. Some say our votes will not make a dent in the status quo, so why bother? Of all the reasons cited for not voting, this one is the most damaging. Unless we make our multitudinous voices heard through the ballot, how can we expect the changes we want? If this is not persuasive enough, consider this: The simple yet profound act of voting can change the voter. The first step to changing a country, or even the world, is to change ourselves.

33. Honor the 26th amendment. We get into passionate arguments about the 2^nd Amendment for its implications on gun control but we rarely talk about the 26^th Amendment, ratified in July 1971, that gives Americans 18 years or older the right to vote. So, if you fall in this category or call yourself Gen Z, Gen X, Millennial, baby boomer, octogenarian, or centenarian, vote! While we are at it, why not shoot for the stars? In the 2020 presidential election, 67% of eligible voters - about 160 million Americans - voted, the most in our history. But that also meant that 80 million Americans million did not vote. In this midterm let’s set a record: 80% or 200 million.

44. Transcend political affiliations by voting for values and principles. If your values and principles coincide with your affiliations, you are among the lucky ones. For most of us, however, putting principles over politics and pocketbooks can be gut-wrenching. Yet this is what we must do if it serves the common good of the country. Be an informed voter by studying where the candidates stand and the pros and cons of propositions. Don’t fall for the flashy flyer, social media sensationalism or pre-election polls. Voting is an obligation that requires us to be knowledgeable about who and what we vote for or against, and how it aligns with our deepest beliefs. Read voter information guides and unbiased reports on the Internet. Informed voters put acumen over anger and facts over fear.

5 5. A consequential election. It is in human nature to think that our times are the most pivotal in history. Still, it is no exaggeration to say that the results of the 2022 midterm election will define the direction of our country for the foreseeable future, in particular, whether democracy will flourish or be on life-support. With our ballots, we can decide whether we will have freedom of choice, whether everyone will be equal under the law, whether candidates will speak truth to power or are too beholden to demagogues and lobbies to be not just useless but dangerous.

By voting as informed citizens we can ensure a bright future for our nation. Vote, so that through the fog of deception, despair and denial, the sound of democracy comes through loud and clear.

A Call for Olympians to Take a Stand Against the Genocide in Darfur

The Olympic charter contains these soaring lines: “The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.”

However, the charter also prohibits demonstrations of "political, religious or racial propaganda" at the official venues.

Should athletes follow the letter or the spirit of the Olympics charter? The question is gaining urgency as the world prepares to celebrate the summer Olympics in China in August this year.

China’s human rights violations in Tibet and, in particular, its complicity in the genocide in Darfur, are known to all but the most insular. Sudan whets China's bottomless appetite for oil and spends a significant portion of its oil revenue to buy arms from China. Protected by its trading partner at the United Nations, the Khartoum government has consistently flouted international appeals to stop the genocide in Darfur that it has waged with its allied Janjaweed militia on the darker-skinned indigenous farmers of the region since 2003.

One athlete who feels passionately about the Darfur genocide is the American Joey Cheek. Cheek won the gold medal in 500-meter speed skating at the 2006 winter Olympics in Turin. At the awards ceremony, Cheek announced that he was donating all his winnings from the U.S. Olympic Committee, a total of $40,000, to Darfurian refugees in Chad.

I can still recall how stunned and electrified I was (feelings that I undoubtedly shared with millions of TV viewers around the world) at the magnitude of this humanitarian gesture.

In a recent article, Cheek explained his motivation: “I feel no different from a person born in any other area of the world, except perhaps a bit luckier. And if people were gunning down my family, I would certainly want the world to help. So that's what I tried to do.”

Cheek launched a Website that monitors the situation in Darfur. It has become the catalyst for an international coalition of athletes determined to bring an end to the violence that has so far claimed over 400,000 lives in Western Sudan and created a staggering 2.5 million refugees.

Cheek wants to use the Beijing Olympics as a platform for peacefully publicizing the genocide in Darfur. Although not a contestant, his message to participating athletes is moving and forceful: “I sincerely hope that the newest Olympic champions not only show graciousness toward their Chinese hosts, but also issue a stern call for action in Darfur. With its significant ties to Sudan, China is one of the countries in the world best positioned to do more to stop the killing in Darfur, and it is the responsibility of athletes competing there this summer to say that -- respectfully yet forcefully -- even as they focus on their own athletic accomplishments.”

Mia Farrow, George Clooney, Don Cheadle and several other public figures have been working to draw the world's attention on the horrors of Darfur. In an ideal world sports and politics would not mix but we do not live in an ideal world. Who can ever forget the Black Power salute of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 summer Olympics in Mexico City, and how it shook up the status quo? Joey Cheek is right to mobilize athletes to stop the unending violence in Darfur by putting pressure on the Chinese government. After all, what can be “faster, higher, stronger” than the force of will to defend those who are unable to defend themselves?