P Diddy finally does something ... right.

Look, I am not a P Diddy fan.  He annoys me with his self absorption and his goofy mohawk, but when a man does something right, he has to be recognized.

This was in a recent news report.

Getting Out the Youth Vote: A New Approach #  The problem with most get-out-the-vote campaign slogans is that they are too subtle. "Rock the Vote" doesn't give you any idea of what consequences you might face should the vote fail to be rocked. And "Choose or Lose," while appearing to spell out a worst-case scenario, neglects to take into account that you might choose and lose (n.b. Florida 2000). And to judge by both of these slogans, you would think that you could not vote and still live. Not so, it turns out. According to the youth voter drive just launched by Sean Combs/Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/Puffy, the options are stark: "VOTE OR DIE."   P. Diddy Launches Black, Youth Voter Drive [Reuters/Yahoo]

This is finally a message that is going to resonate with some young folks in the cities and in some rural areas.  The images coming out of Iraq are brutal.  Kids that signed up to defend this country are fighting a seemingly unnecessary and relentless war. 

The message of P. Diddy is somewhat murky in terms of application.  Who's to say that if Kerry is elected, the United States won't remain in  Iraq for sometime, but who is also to say that another war/problem area will not pop either? 

I am just impressed with the use of rhetoric here.  It comes down to something simple -- VOTE OR DIE.  That is the over simplified message of course because what it really means is -- VOTE or continue to perpetuate a society that uses its most disenfranchised to maintain the status quo  of legalized oppression and poverty.

I have always been a proponent of voting and this is the most harsh explanation for why a portion of the population should vote. 

Rock the Vote didn't work because it isn't cool to vote.  Cool implies that you are above everyone else.  You are a status above the others.  Voting is necessary in the republic that we live in today. 

VOTE OR DIE implies something dire and should resonate with many.

It will also be looked upon as a joke, and it is to many.   P Diddy is a joke in his own right, but at least he is making an effort to encourage voting by a population that is often disregarded in a time when theirs and your votes mean so much. 

I preach every year... but be sure to vote on election day.