In 2010 the Iraqi Parliamentary elections were held with over eleven million Iraqi citizens voting. In Nineveh Province your Georgia Army National Guard was “on point” working with the new Iraqi government, Iraqi Security Forces, and the Regional Embassy Office in Mosul to secure polling locations and ensure every citizen had the opportunity to vote. Because of the support of many of you who are now reading this, I had the opportunity as the Plans and Operations Officer assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team, to help the Iraqi government provide safe and secure voting.

Today as Melissa and I visited our polling place here in Bryan County I was reminded of the events of ten years ago and what seems like another lifetime. We are so fortunate in our country to have the right to vote and to be safe and secure in our exercise of that right. We are fortunate too that our elections are free and open without the necessity of being monitored by the United Nations or other world organizations. We are simply blessed.

Please vote tomorrow, Tuesday, June 9, 2020 in our state’s primary election. Regardless of who you vote for, please vote. Our system of government depends on this fundamental action.

It seems that today, there are many who would tear down that system and transition to another, although I am not sure we may really want that. I routinely make the statement when teaching Constitutional Law or other Criminal Justice courses that our system of government is the worst in the world, except for all others.

The smiles and genuine gratitude on the faces of the Iraqi citizens I had the experience to see after they had the opportunity to vote were genuine. Most had never had the opportunity to participate in their government. I think that as Americans we sometimes take all of this for granted.

“Faciendum est!”

Mike