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from the pages of
September 2004
Voting
by Michael Ballon
Participation is such an essential element of democracy that it seems unfair or inadequate that major elections are held just every four years. It is true that we can vote in local and state elections more frequently, and participation is not limited to merely voting, but most people in this country imagine they have fulfilled their civic responsibilities by voting in national elections once every 4 years. The number of people who manage to do even that is profoundly disappointing, as barely 50% of eligible voters cast ballots, giving the US one of the lowest rates of voter participation in the world. As we approach the November elections, almost half the people in the country are sufficiently disinterested or alienated that they won't bother to vote, even though the nation is at war. Whether it is because they feel there isn't enough difference between the political parties, or that there vote doesn't matter, or that wealthy special interests corrupt the process, the bottom line is that only half of us will bother to cast a ballot on November 2.
While elections happen infrequently, we make choices about how to buy food every day, and how we spend our food dollars constitutes another kind of vote. Where and how we spend our food dollars matters. We can choose to shop at a farmers market or local food co-op, or a national chain supermarket. We can dine at fast food restaurants, or independently owned local restaurants. Great Barrington is surely one of the few places in the country where a national fast food burger chain restaurant closed only to become transformed into a Japanese restaurant. That is a result of local citizens voting with their feet and their wallets. It is often hard to know how one's vote in a Presidential election effects or influences national foreign or economic policy, but when you buy locally grown food at a farmer's market, or a loaf of bread made by a local bakery, which employs your neighbor, the effect is immediate and discernible. When the local food co-op is able to expand and double in size, because hundreds of members provided loans in small denominations, that is also the result of the many votes of confidence by local residents and citizens, who recognized the importance of casting their economic vote.
The local farm economy in the Berkshires is obviously a highly seasonal one, and it culminates every September in a celebration of food sponsored by Berkshire Grown, this year on September 20, at Eastover. While cheese making and bread baking continue year round, the Berkshire Grown "Taste of the Bershires" event is a celebration of the harvest, which features the best local chefs preparing and offering samples of food in a festive atmosphere, all in support of local agriculture. If you want an opportunity to taste local farm products made by an impressive crew of the best of the Berkshire's many restaurants, this is a ideal time to come out in support. And unlike shopping at a farmer's market, where you have to go home and cook the food you've purchased, the cornucopia of local produce will be transformed into ready to eat tastes. Your biggest dilemma will be how to pace yourself, and figure out in what order you'd like to eat.
This is the prefect event to provide you with the inspiration and strength to vote in November.
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