Our 5 Questions + Why? Part 1 of 5

22 August 2020 #BetweenTheLinesDotVote Analysis Our 5 Questions + Why? Part 1 of 5 Today's question is: Will You Vote In November? In the coming 4 Parts, we'll take one question at a time.

2) Will you vote in November? This may be the single most important question we ask. In analyzing Dornsife's 2020 methods, yesterday, I discovered for the first time that they factor OUT all of their participants who answer no to that question. That's awesome! Seriously.

3) I was thrilled to note that they employ the same gold standard our BTL Poll does, and I am now almost certain they did that in 2016 as well. I think I invented the term "Pledged Voters," but no matter, if they did this in 2016, they to my knowledge, they were the first.

4) On the other hand, not being an insider, or trained in the art of polling, perhaps this has been known forever. If so, I don't know why we don't hear more about it. I think it's now easy to establish that Pledged Voters is, in fact, the true gold standard when polling.

5) But forget about the professionals, or the polling nerds like me. Let's focus on you, first, and then your friends and family second. Will YOU vote in November? If you'd asked me that question at any point prior to 2016, my answer would have been NO!

6) Hell, I even failed to vote in 2016. I tried, but failed. I registered in order to vote for the first time in 2016, but when I went to do so, they did NOT have me on the voter rolls, and said they refused me my right to vote. Isn't that interesting?

7) They happily explained that they had a form for people who "believed" they had registered, or whose registration came in too late to be processed, but of course that form could obviously NOT be processed on 8 November 2016. So, I was not allowed to vote for Trump.

8) I did fill out the form, and was allowed to vote, for the very first time in my life, in the 2018 Midterm Election. Hey, we should rename that. Midterm refers to the President. We should change that. It should be called something like the Congressional Election, right?

9) When did YOU first vote, and why? Or, like me, why didn't you vote? Who watches the show Billionaire? I love that show. Bobby's wife - I never remember her name - at one point says, if we don't mark the milestones, then we're just passing time. I thought that was profound.

10) You could - and SHOULD - be able to tell the story of your life as a citizen by expressing to yourself if no one else, who you voted for and why, who you didn't vote for and why, or why you didn't vote. There are many ways to tell a story. This one is among the most powerful.

11) Here's that list: * Who did you vote for, and why? * Who didn't you vote for, and why? * If you did vote at all, why? * If you didn't vote, why?

12) It's important to understand, voting is a right, but NOT an obligation. It is not a burden. You do it, or you don't, at your free will. So, why didn't I vote, ever, before Trump? I consider that to be one of the most important question you might ask me.

13) In my youth, as I have often shared, I was everything left with the small exception of being a true Communist. I first read the Communist Manifesto at age 19. I agreed with almost everything in it. Much that is in it, I still agree with. I'll explain.

14) Capitalism is easy to attack, and often, the attacks are 100% righteous. If you don't know the story of the Enclosure Acts in England, it's a story you need to study. This is an excellent starting point:

15) Right after I read the Communist Manifesto, I read an amazing book called How Green Was My Valley. The British overlords, with their beloved Constabulary came to Wales, and upended their ancient society. They had no police. They self governed. Sound familiar?

16) The thing is, their local law was fierce beyond anything you might imagine. If the community convicted someone, that someone was executed. Justice was fast. When you read the novel, it all sounds so romantic. Back to ancient roots. And as a 19-year old, I bought it.

17) As a 60-year old, I can so easily recall those emotions and many of them I still have. I hate corrupt cops. Hell, I hate the fact that a cop has the power to flash his cop car's lights and I have to pull over. I have to submit. I HATE submitting. Hate it. Furiously.

18) I lived for 11 years in the State of Maryland. During that time, speed trap cameras were set up in ever-growing numbers. They should be called Mail-a-ticket Machines. I'm not sure I support speed limit laws. Natively, I abhor them. But, cameras for tickets and revenues?

19) I wish I could say I digress, but I don't. What possible power of the vote would voting in Montgomery County Maryland offer me, when it comes to Mail-a-ticket Machines come into view? The honest answer is not one bit. The rigged system cannot be unrigged by voting.

20) From my almost-Marxist youth - oh wait, why wasn't I an actual Marxist? Just two reasons. I disagreed with the destruction of the family. And, I disagree with violent destruction of all societal institutions. Even at 19, I could not got there. So, I became a Socialist.

21) I didn't really know what it meant. I did know that Republicans weren't that. But, when I looked at Democrats, I found them weak, insipid, and completely in bed with the power establishment. They disgusted me, for NOT being far left enough. I've always been a radical.

22) But wait, why didn't I vote when I was 18? The law had changed, by the 26th Amendment, in 1971, 7 years previous to my turning 18. The answer is, I just wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention. I had not yet converted to Socialism. I wasn't civically awake.

23) More. I couldn't vote in the 1976 election, being only 16. My Socialism had already commenced by the 1980 election, but while reading books, I was still too young to care or stand up and get in the civic game. Besides? Carter vs Reagan? I was not able to care.

24) Enough about me. Getting back to you, can you tell your story the way I can tell mine? Do you remember your first vote or non-vote? Can you use the election cycles as a means of telling your civic story? Did you vote? Will you vote in November? And in any case, why?

25) We'll turn to your friends and family in a moment. As a nation, as a people - the land of the free and the brave - why does such a small percentage of our adult population show up to vote? Why did it take me to the age of 56 to even care, or believe in the vote?

26) In every election, we're always told to be sure to get out there and vote. Why? Why can't we just assume that EVERY adult citizen of America votes, and wouldn't dream of NOT voting anymore than they'd NOT cash a check sent by the government?

27) It's complicated. Are we a Republic or a Democracy? What are those two things? Their difference, their intersection? We always claim we're a Democracy. But what about our Republic? It's confusing. It takes great thought effort to study and learn and comprehend.

28) Most everyone I know tells me they're bad at math. Switch topics to history, the results tend not to be too much better. Civics? Are you kidding? That's about as bad as a class in the history of math (which I'd LOVE MORE than I can say!). Why don't we vote?

29) If you've followed me about my own voting/non-voting story, and begun to look at the milestones of your own civic history, then you've got the foundation for turning to others and ask them, will you vote in November, why or why not?

30) I have an hour-long video to share with you. It is one of the most powerful things I've ever found. As you see below, it's called The Last Lecture, by Father Michael Himes. I cannot too passionately recommend you give it its full hour.

31) You cannot get an adult's full civic story in 2 or 3 minutes over the phone. You have to care. You have to focus all of your attention on the other person. You have to be truly interested to learn the milestones of their civic life, and more importantly, the why or why not.

32) It's a phenomenal story how a person became a Reagan Democrat. It's a phenomenal story how a person became an Obama Republican. They weren't called that, but without them, there's no way Obama wins in 2008. Find these stories, and care.

33) In coming days and weeks at our site, we at BTL will soon start offering guidance on how to become the pollster for your friends and family in your own real world life. If you're interested, head over to the site.

34) When you do, you'll rapidly see this lightbox emerge. Please do sign up for it if you're interested in learning how your real world friends and family feel, where they stand.

35) Will you vote? Why? This question is one of the most powerful acts you can take on behalf of our nation, as a patriot. It is also one of the most powerful steps to take when healing the rift that splits us as a people. We must learn to ask, and care, and show that we care.

Thread ends at #35.