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--> --> Now, let's get out the vote The will of the people will never be known if the people have no will. The primary election ballots are in the mail, and Oregon voters have until May 21 to have their voices heard. A noble gesture of our freedom to choose has been removed. Oregonians don't go to the polls. We no longer stand tall in a line of our fellow citizens - with pride and without fear - waiting our turn behind the curtain of secrecy to place our X and determine the future of our country, state and community. Instead, we go to the dining room table. Vote-by-mail is a disappointing reality, but it doesn't diminish the duty. Some say it makes it easier. Others say it allows for undo influence. Still others believe it eliminates the public gesture so necessary to mark the task. But whichever side of that issue you fall, vote you must. The double-majority rule is another immoderate reality, making it necessary for a majority of registered voters to cast ballots before certain measures can be considered to be passed. This rule, folly though it is, makes it doubly important to cast the vote. The Tidings, and other newspapers and organizations, have offered endorsements for candidates and measures. Each is only a single voice, sounding a clarion call for each individual to submit a single vote. Our forefathers put their lives on the line to preserve this right. Don't fail. Be heard. This is your country, but without your vote, that country is merely a baleful blush on the face of freedom. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing