How Are You Using Your Power On Thursday?
By Laura Griffin
How are you using your power on Thursday?
The power of crossing a box in a village hall in a forgotten corner of an overlooked county?
The strength of casting a chance in the hope that something will change for the better?
The potential of being heard at all after queuing on a rainy, noisy street, waiting for the polls to open and the blessed ballot papers to be handed out?
The power that people marched for, rioted for, died for?
The influence of ghostly suffragettes, voices still clear over thundering horses’ hooves and policemen’s whistles?
The might of spectral activists, demanding their humanity in a system determined to look blindly on, demanding the basic right of a voice over the ugly shrieks and slurs?
The might of red roses and shouts for bread by factory workers upon whose shoulders and sweaty brows countless countries were built?
Ah, it’s just the local council.
Ah, it’s just the local representative whose party has always won.
Ah, it’s just the leadership run that’s already been called before the polls open.
How much harm will one lost vote be?
It’s only another crack.
It’s only another tremor of what’s to come.
It’s only one vote when one vote can make change or break the future.
But there’s no one to vote for.
No one that I feel I need to vote for.
No one good enough for my precious, hard-won vote.
Does it matter?
We weigh everything else in life on the rusty but true scales of pros and cons.
Why should choosing our leaders be an easy decision?
Why should we stop calling them to account after giving them our hard-won vote?
Why do we think our participation ends at the ballot box?
We may not feel like we want or need to wash the dishes that pile up in the sink.
Or wash dirty clothes for the start of the next week.
Or cook food after a long day of discontent and tiredness.
But the errands, the jobs, the chores still need to be done,
No matter how many times we’ve done them before,
No matter our fatigue.
It’s just another chore that we need to do tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.
Democracy is a chore that is never completed, after all.
Its urgency never diminishes even after the polling stations pack up.
Countless thousands didn’t risk their lives so casually,
Just so you could ignore this most important chore.
Even if this is the type of chore you have to talk yourself into completing,
Even if the chore is completed through a tactical outlook towards the ends you seek.
Completing a chore tactically doesn’t mean the chore is undone,
In fact, it might mean it will stick this time.
Vote like your life depends on it.
Because it probably does.
So, I ask again –
How are you going to use your power on Thursday?