Opinion: Serving your country starts with civic engagement

Four weeks ago, I messaged my lawyer to inform him that I could not keep a scheduled appointment for the 5th of November, because I would be working at the polls all day. His reply surprised me: “Thank you for working the polls and performing your civic duty.”
In a society where the refrain “Thank you for your service” is commonly heard whenever military personnel walk by, we fail to recognize that civilians can and should do other forms of service for their country besides donning a uniform. Some of us may have done or know someone who has done jury duty. We vote, though not in overwhelming numbers. American citizens have always been called upon to do these tasks, but few do. In his book “The Dying Citizen,” renowned historian Victor Davis Hansen asks us to consider what it means to be a citizen — as he explains, there is too much focus on rights, yet little attention on responsibilities. We yearn to be free — as Lady Liberty declares on her tablet — but few of us yearn to shoulder the responsibilities and perform civic duties demanded of a free people.
This year, I decided that I would have no right to complain about election integrity or the state of the government if I failed to answer the call to participate in the electoral process. I wanted to see for myself how it worked; I wanted to do more than just cast a ballot.
Strict requirements included training. In a one-day session, we poll workers practiced properly setting up/dismantling booths. No one discussed political views — we focused on supporting each other to do our job well. As a veteran of the Army National Guard, I still recall the day I was sworn in and the pride I felt. At the end of poll worker training, I again recited an oath to “support and defend the constitution … [and] do my due diligence,” words seared into my mind and heart.
We verified IDs, triple checked voter data and got signature confirmation from voters as well as poll workers. Two poll workers were required to sign off on tasks.
Were there people trying to vote “illegally”? Probably. All I can say for sure is that we turned away a few folks with improper identification (out of state or wrong county). Many folks waited till the day of or only a few days before to register, causing delays in processing them to check in to vote. Lesson: if you want your vote to be counted, don’t delay getting registered. I noticed that certain demographics preregistered well in advance. Expediting the process, they showed only one ID: driver’s licenses.
My colleagues were exemplary patriots — acting with professionalism, they maintained a neutral but helpful disposition toward everyone (despite the fact that we can see affiliation when verifying registration). In fact, several voters had no affiliation. One surprising thing was that several voters, adamant that they no longer belonged to the party listed in their record, asked if they could change affiliation. Note that voters are not restricted to choosing candidates from their party affiliation in national elections.
At the end of a 16-hour day, I was exhausted but proud to have participated in the civic life of our republic. Civic duty can engender confidence in the integrity of democratic processes. More importantly, it makes us responsible citizens, worthy of the rights we so stridently claim as we live up to the immortal words of President John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”