JENNINGS: Apathy ignites no sympathy

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July 14, 2010

Anonymous The Journal-Register The Journal-Register Wed Jul 14, 2010, 03:15 PM EDT

ALBION —

Rochester mayor and candidate for lieutenant governor Robert Duffy came to town this week for the Orleans County Democratic Picnic, and even after a few words, he made me feel good about politics again. It is refreshing to be around someone in politics who has what so many politicians are lacking, and that is common sense.

Even though Duffy and Cuomo appear to be sure winners for the governor’s office, Duffy warned his supporters not to fall victim to the voter apathy that plagues the state and region. That reminded me of a funny thing that happened to me last year.

I cover the Canal Concert Series for the Lockport paper and the deadline for my reviews is 1 a.m. Last year I typically would go to the show and then come home and cook something on the grill while I sit outside with my laptop and write up the review. One evening, a woman pulled into my driveway, got out of her car and started asking if I had seen any suspicious characters lurking around the trailer park located right behind my house. I told her I had not, and then she asked what I was doing with my laptop. I explained that I write concert reviews every Friday, and this led to her recognizing me as the writer of this column.

As is typical, she rambled off a series of things that I should write about. She went into a tirade about the local government and all of its problems, I suggested some people in local government she should contact with her concerns, and then she disappeared into the night.

A few weeks later, I was going through the trailer park collecting signatures on an independent nominating petition, which meant I was working with the entire voter registration list and not just one party. The same woman comes flying out of her trailer to ask my son and I what we were doing in the park, I recognized her and reminded her who I was.

We had already passed her trailer and I looked on the list to see if she were registered to vote. She was not on the list, so I said to her, “We would have stopped but I don’t see your name on the voter registration list. Have you moved recently?” She quickly replied that she had never registered to vote. That, to me, defines apathy, at least in voting.

Sadly, she is all too typical of many people who contact me wanting to champion some cause of theirs in the newspaper or otherwise. They will express outrage at a certain situation and yet never write a letter to the editor, work a political campaign or involve themselves in community organizations. Or even worse, they will be heavily involved in local politics and want me to do their dirty work behind the scenes so their precious reputation will not be stained by being associated with the likes of me. Of course, that is not apathy, it is cunning and deceit — common traits among a select group of elected officials and their cronies around here.

If you purchase a newspaper or at least read one, I suppose the chances are that you currently do not fall into the apathetic category. (Although the lady from the trailer is certainly an exception to that rule) Now, the trick is to make sure you do not become apathetic, and the best way to do that is to vote and get involved in every election, no matter how big or small.

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JENNINGS: Apathy ignites no sympathy

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