You held out your hand and said you needed helping. They gave you a pathetic look andThe acrid rain came down and it soaked up into your shoes. You thought you hadpneumonia, but it was the homeless blues.
You had not voted when you had a home. You had not voted when you had a job. Youdid not vote when domestic violence was not a problem. You did not vote when the housewas not on fire.
And surely you did not vote when you were out of your head on drugsand alcohol. Would you be concerned, and would anything have been different if you hadbeen a registered voter, and had voted? When you heard someone say, “it can happen toany one of use,” would you have thought that they could have been talking about yourFor a multitude of reasons, both legitimate and illegitimate, any one of us can againbecome homeless. With that concern in mind, the issues and positions of the homelessshould be more immediate in the need for your attention. That concern should dictate thatyou not take for granted the duties of a citizen, and not have to rely on the kindness ofstrangers, nor be dependent on those who perhaps did vote.
To vote is to use the greatest weapon a citizen has at his disposal in a democracy. To voteis to fight that corner of apathy in our communities, our institutions, in our homes and inTo register to vote, and vote, by homeless people is a tool that was not always affordedthe indigent, and some of the harsh realities of needing certain kinds of assistance isprofoundly significant, in that you are in the eye of the storm at the moment, you can seewith clarity the needs. And in the aftermath of the storm you will have a perspective of thelegislation and the legislators who understand your plight now, and the same concerns ofthose who may need services after you. The homeless need to align themselves with thosewho have an interest in the homeless at heart, and vote accordingly.
To not register tovote, and to not vote does a great disservice to those who have died getting and defendingthe right of homeless people to vote and truly take their rightful place in the affairs ofnone
