“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ― Edmund Burke

This is one of my favorite quotes.  I was planning on doing the blog today on this quote and how it relates to the second highest voter turn out in U.S. history we’ve just experienced.  However, in researching the quote, it turns out there’s some controversy on exactly who said it. 

It was President John F. Kennedy who attributed the quote to Burke in one of his famously rousing speeches, but some people think John Stuart Mill said it, while others think it was Andrew Marshall who came up with it first.  My thoughts?  Who cares!  Take the meaning, not the man, who may or may not have said it.

We just had he second highest voter turnout, by percentage of population, in a U.S. Presidential election!!!  That’s wonderful!!!  Good men didn’t do nothing.  They, and women, turned out in record number for their version of good.  No more complacency, no more “oh, my vote doesn’t matter,” people mailed-in and stood in line to make sure they didn’t do nothing.  Regardless of which way you voted, you should pat yourself on the back for making sure that what you think is evil didn’t triumph.

Just for the record, the highest percentage of the population to vote in a Presidential election was in 1876 and it was 81.8% of eligible voters at that time.  2020 came close, and let’s hope 2024 comes even closer.  Well done, America, WELL DONE!