PARSONSFIELD – Please register to vote and cast a ballot. This Independence Day, along with parades, cookouts, and fireworks, remember what we are celebrating.

Even before 1776, brave individuals took serious risks to establish a different type of government, one that was, in Abraham Lincoln’s words, “of the people, by the people, for the people.”

In our hectic lives, we sometimes pay more attention to issues centered far away from our homes and highlighted by the plethora of news sources. Inherent in our system of democracy is the idea of citizenship.

What do we bring to our communities? How can we ameliorate our lives and those of our neighbors? Paying taxes is certainly a piece of the puzzle, but should we settle for the yard sale bargain toy shy of only six jigsaw paperboard shapes?

Join a community service organization, clean up the debris on a section of road, practice reading with a child, or vote at every opportunity!

Recently, the town of Parsonsfield voted to close the Fred Morrill Elementary School. There were a number of reasons for opposing such a measure, including the good structural shape of the building, the high level of annual student performance, and its memorial status honoring the single Vietnam War soldier who did not return to Parsonsfield.

The elected town officials and school board representatives cited low student population, safety due to extreme remote location, and financial concerns as reasons to close the school. There were several meetings provided by the MSAD/RSU 55 School Board and the town of Parsonsfield in which interested parties could ask questions and gain information and insights.

On May 24, Parsonsfield voted to close the school, which officially occurs today.

Out of more than 1,200 registered voters, fewer than 300 cast a ballot.

Although disappointed in the outcome, I do understand that the people have spoken. The final count may very well have remained along the same margin if every registered voter had participated, but the travesty of decisions being made by one-quarter of a town unnerves me.

Is this apathy what John Hancock had in mind when he boldly signed the Declaration of Independence? How would any of our excuses for not voting sound to Fred Morrill? Could any inconvenience outweigh his sacrifice for our freedom?

So, please participate in our democracy. Register to vote and cast a ballot at every opportunity, and if the polls are not open, request an absentee ballot.

It’s the least we can do in memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Otherwise, prepare an answer for Saint Peter (and Fred Morrill standing right behind him).

– Special to the Press Herald