Duty. Responsibility. Privilege.
These words have been used often in recent weeks as jurors were being selected for a trial that is going on now in Barton County District Court. Serving on a jury is sometimes inconvenient, and sometimes even a burden, but for citizens of the United States of America, answering the call to this service is a duty, a responsibility, and yes, it is a privilege.
Today is election day, and for those eligible to vote, the same three words apply. Citizens have a duty to cast an informed vote. It is a citizen’s responsibility. It may not always be convenient, although nowadays there are plenty of opportunities to vote early or to mail in a ballot. If you do go to the polls, it only takes a few minutes in most cases.
President Lyndon B. Johnson said, “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.”
It’s a privilege to vote. Whether choosing a representative on a city council, as some will do today, or the next president of the United States, as we’ll will do this fall, it is a privilege.

(Susan Thacker  is a reporter at the Great Bend Tribune. Send e-mail to sthacker@gbtribune.com)