Today is the Day to Communicate

As the official "Blogger-at-Large" of the Communicators Forum Board, I will now share with you my very first blog... ever. This may not seem like a big deal to many, but it is to me. So, to quote the great philosopher and muse Glenn Frey "the heat is on." I feel I must enter here, however, a disclaimer: Any grammatical or punctuative errors may be the result of the writer's inexperience and lack of recent necessity to compose anything other than emails, text messages in T-9 format and statuses on Facebook. There... administrative work out of the way, now, on to the blog.

Today, I am sure you are aware, is Election Day. The glut of negative ads in the media and calls from various campaigns remind us of how thankful we all will be when Wednesday, November 3, 2010 finally arrives. Now, I do realize that this blog is for the Communicators Forum. I also realize I do not need to explain why I chose this topic other than timeliness, but I feel that voting is an extremely important form of communication. Hence, the topic AND timeliness seem to be ideal for this blog, eh?

I decided, subsequently, to look up some definitions. So, I went back to the basics... literally. I opened my Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary Unabridged Second Edition Deluxe Color, Copyright © 1979. (It was a high school graduation gift from a family friend whose name I forgot many years ago.) I did look up these same words on line, but I must admit that it seemed too sterile for my first blog. It feels good to have this behemoth-sized book in my lap, too, like an old friend. Sigh.

Sorry. I digress. On to the definitions.

So, there nestled on the page somewhere between "vomiting" and "vouchsafement" lies "vote." Among the many forms, definitions, origins, I highlight here:

vote - to express or signify the mind, will, or preference in a matter by voice, ballot, etc; to vote conscientiously

and

vote - Latin votum, a wish originally a vow.

This then led me to

vow (found between "voudoo" and "vulnerary" on page 2051) which means to declare emphatically, earnestly or solemnly

and

voice - to nominate; to adjuge by vote; to vote or give one's opinion

and, finally a non-"v" word

communicate - to impart to another or others; to make known.

I realize that this isn't an English lesson, or maybe it is, but all of this takes me to what really needs to be said.

Today is the day when all who have a voice should communicate his or her wishes, preferences by voting. Not many countries give their citizens the same rights that we are afforded. By voting we are sharing our desires and wishes, though not necessarily in unison, as one large voice.

Regardless, whether you learned about the election process in ninth grade political science class or from Schoolhouse Rock, your voice matters.

Now, if you haven't already today, go vote.