Dear Editor:

When the framers signed the Constitution of the United States and later the Declaration of Independence, their goal was to create a democracy and escape the encroachment of civil liberties and rights of freedom in the countries they came from. Later the dumping of tea in the Boston Harbor — not to be confused with the current tea party groups — was an act of civil disobedience to protest unlawful taxes without citizen authorization and approval.

Today, two centuries later, we see actions to turn back the clocks.

Last month when I received the packet of information from the National Voters Registration group, to celebrate National Voter Registration Day, I was extremely impressed by the slogan “Celebrating Democracy in America.” But today as I face the disenfranchisement of my civil and voting rights, these words ring sour notes in my ears.

In America our constitution and the Voting Rights Act guarantees one vote per person, and the beauty of the law is one may vote for ones self if properly entered into an election and included on a ballot.

Unfortunately, this does not ring true for me. Last week I felt the full impact of voter disenfranchisement as I was unable to cast a vote for my own campaign for election to Bogalusa City Council. I instantly remembered my granduncle, who gave his life for America when he was KIA in World War I in 1918, and the other aspects of my family’s legacy in America and Bogalusa.

Shame on those who perpetuated this injustice. But I am proud I live in the great country of the United States of America, a country where we celebrate democracy.

– Emma Dixon

Bogalusa