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Marie Lozito	November 1, 2010 Marie Lozito is a Registered Nurse, Licensed Massage Therapist, wife, mother, grandmother and life-long conservative. She wrote a text on medical massage and taught at New York College of Health Professions.  Interested in, and observing politics since 1960, she decided to run for an elected office in 2010.

With all the publicity and hoopla about the election, I hear some people complaining. They say they wish it was over, 'it's such a nuisance' to have this happen every other year. Some of the complainers state they don't vote, some others say they vote a straight party line - without even looking at what the candidates stand for. 

I've always heard these statements but I've heard it a lot more since running for office this year. It always disappoints me. I think about how amazing this country is and what our forefathers risked, and sacrificed for us to have the privilege to vote.

It's hard for us to imagine what the world was like in the 1700s when this country was created. It's not just the technology we have now, it's the social and political differences too. For instance, in 18th century society:

- A human being could be bought and sold as either an indentured servant (a temporary condition lasting until a debt was repaid) or as a slave. Incidentally, not all slaves were black.

- Women were not equal to men and did not hold positions of authority. In many places, women could not even inherit money or property.

- If a person gave a handshake on a deal, it was considered as binding as a modern day legal contract.

- A man who felt his honor, or his wife's honor, had been insulted would challenge the insulter to a duel. Many men died "defending" their honor.

- There were no democracies or republics in existence at the time. Every country was ruled by a monarchy, a dynasty or a chief. The rulers were all powerful in their countries.

 

- England was the dominant country in the world. "The sun never sets on the British Empire" was true because England owned colonies all over the world. The British army and navy were considered to be unbeatable.

- A person accused of a crime was guilty until proven innocent. Punishment for the 'guilty' was what we would consider "cruel and unusual".

In 1775 at the second Continental Congress, Richard Lee from Virginia introduced a resolution "That these United colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." The Congress voted to approve this resolution and appointed a committee to draft a declaration. By July 1776 the draft had been written, amended and approved by the members of the Congress. 

That summer, the Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 brave men who believed that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration of Independence went on to explain what had been happening in the colonies and why the colonists felt they needed to separate from England. It was a justification of the colonies radical action so that the world would understand. It was also high treason.

King George lll ordered all of the signers to be hunted down and punished. The punishment for treason was severe! A traitor to the Crown was to be publicly hung by the neck until almost dead. His still living body was to be cut down and disemboweled. He was then to be drawn and quartered. The final part of the punishment was that the body parts were to be burned and the ashes dispersed in the wind, thus depriving him the respectability of a grave.

These men knew the punishment. They also knew that their families were put at risk by their signing the Declaration. They knew they would be fighting the most powerful nation, actually empire, in the world. The odds were stacked against them. They signed anyway. With "a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence," they mutually pledged "to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." Many lost their fortunes, some lost their lives but all retained their honor. 

When I think about their courage and their love of liberty, I am awed and grateful. It is only because of them, and all the others who have fought for our freedom, that citizens of the United States can exercise the privilege of voting.