Though it doesn't get much publicity, there's a Presidential election next year. In anticipation of said election, an organization called HeadCount is appearing at concerts nationwide to try and get people to register to vote. The non-partisan organization will be traveling with acts such as Dave Matthews, Santana and Maroon 5. So, when Dave Matthews goes into a 37-minute jam on the song "#41," you can take the opportunity to get yourself a shirt, maybe grab a hot dog, and register to vote.
If registering to vote at a concert sounds a little weird, it's actually nothing new. Yours truly registered to vote at a Pearl Jam concert in 2003. Then I cast my vote in the 2004 election for Eddie Vedder. I guess he didn't win, but regardless, I did my part and contributed to the democratic tradition.
You know how some people say, "if you don't vote, you can't complain?" I vote so I can tell those people to go away. Whatever your reasoning, it's important you get registered and go out next year to vote. Sure, the process of voting is annoying, and it doesn't really make a difference, but it's something that you have to do anyway, kind of like vacuuming the living room before you have company over. And hell, if nothing else, you get out of work for an hour. What is your boss going to say? "No, you can't leave work and vote"? He'd be a Communist, and then you could probably get him fired and take his job. So yeah, voting has its advantages. I only wish they could make it a little easier. We can put ATMs in bars, but we still have to go to a church basement and wait in line to vote? Get with the times, electoral college.
Go to HeadCount.org if you want to volunteer/watch free concerts.
(Diddy is in no way involved with this campaign, but that picture is hilarious.)
