Election Day is
here. If this election is like most non-presidential years, the number of
people that actually vote will be very low, perhaps as few as one in four. This statistic has always made me sad. The right to vote and have a say in how we
are governed is at the very bedrock of our country and to know that less than
30% of those who can vote do so is just wrong.
My day job is at
the National Voice of America Museum in West Chester. A recent experience there really made an
impression on me as it demonstrated what some people in other countries will do
to exercise the freedoms we take for granted.
The Museum has acquired a unique piece of history. A
few weeks ago a couple drove up to the Museum and donated a 1960s Soviet Union
manufactured shortwave radio that they had used when they lived in Ukraine.
The
radio was sold in the Soviet Union during the cold war and was designed so it
could not receive VOA broadcasts. Felix and Lola, the couple who made
the donation, related to me how they and many others in their village would
have their radios modified so that they could pick up VOA programming.
As we talked, the couple related how they would
“listen under the blankets” so as not to be discovered by authorities critical
of their search for the truth. They noted that many in the village did the same
thing even though they would be punished if found out by the local authorities.
In this country we have access to information. Unfortunately there is so much available it
is like drinking from a fire hydrant.
Nevertheless, we can find information and we can use it to make
decisions about our country. Many around
the world still cannot.
Maybe next election we can all think about this
little under-the-blanket radio and what it symbolizes for millions.
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