A Community Ritual

Rituals, daily and seasonal, give order and meaning to our lives. They are sacred and symbolic, though they are so common that we don’t often give them much thought. It can be hard to think of them as sacred or sometimes understand what they stand for, but take them away and those meanings become very apparent. Think about your rituals, don’t take them for granted. They mean something. I hope it is a good meaning and not symbolic of an emptiness that needs to be filled.

These rituals are not just personal, but can also be communal. It is interesting to look at this Presidential Election time through are popular culture eyes, and not just our political ones. We have entered into a time filled with rituals, both sacred and symbolic, the primaries and then the election itself. It may not seem sacred, and this maybe because it has become devalued by many. The election process is symbolic of our democracy, and fundamental value of American society.

The process is suppose to be part of popular culture, it should be for everyone to participate in. In a democracy we are suppose to listen, think about what we hear and discuss it with others. It is not commercial in nature, though there is a part of it that is certainly commercial. The election process can seem to take forever, but this is a big country and I suppose we need the time to do a good job of electing our leaders.

I hope everyone will take the time to participate. The Ohio primaries will be in early March, the first Tuesday (this ritual is suppose to make it easy to remember). It may seem that everyone else gets a chance to vote before then, but you should still plan on going to vote. Not only does your vote count, but it is good practice to vote in the primary so you will be ready for the big election in November.