MARK MY WORD: TO A 6-YEAR-OLD, VOTING CAN'T COMPARE WITH SPICE GIRLS

Voting. I never imagined I'd have to try to define it to my 6-year-old.

But there I was the other day trying to explain it to Becca.

It all started innocently enough when I pointed out the polling place where I would be voting in Tuesday's primary.

"Why do you vote?" she asked. "Do they pay you?"

"No, you don't get paid," I replied as we drove past the polling place. "You do it because it is your civic duty," I explained.

But the concept seemed lost on her. She couldn't understand why anyone would take the time to vote when there wasn't even so much as a free Beanie Baby at stake.

In today's entertainment-driven society, voting just doesn't rate.

But then it didn't rate years ago either, long before there were movies, television and the Spice Girls.

Centuries ago in America, you had to be male, over 21 years of age, and of "peaceable and honest conversation" to vote.

Barred from voting were women, blacks, the Cleveland Indians and ex-convicts who weren't politicians.

The Puritan settlers in Massachusetts required church membership as a condition for voting.

In the 1700s, most of the American colonies conducted oral elections. Of course, as the country grew, it was difficult to shout above all those masses and be heard.

Eventually, the nation settled on secret ballots as the best way for people to cast votes. The move sent profits soaring in the ballot-box industry, which previously worried that it would be reduced to building rabbit hutches.

Over the years, the containers got bigger thanks in large part to a tendency on the part of some Americans to stuff the ballot boxes.

Few Americans could vote and even fewer did so in the nation's early years.

Settlers often had to ride two days to get to the polls. Voting times were uncertain, political information was hard to come by, and candidates didn't run television spots.

In Massachusetts, only one man in 50 was eligible to vote. Less than 2 percent of eligible voters went to the polls.

The nation's early presidents were all elected by 4 to 6 percent of those few citizens who were eligible to vote.

Over the centuries, voter eligibility and participation have expanded.

Still, voting doesn't make much sense to 6-year-olds like Becca.

She's much more excited about the Spice Girls than about the August primary.

She loves to watch "Spice World," a movie starring, of course, the Spice Girls.

Becca now has her own copy of the movie, complete with fold-out poster.

"Five girls. Five days. One rocking world!" proclaims the cover of the videotape.

You have to admit that the slogan is far better than that of many political candidates.

Election officials regularly voice dismay over voter apathy.

Perhaps more voters would vote if there were food and musical entertainment at the polling places.

Instead of political rallies, we could have polling rallies, complete with Spice Girls videos.

Voting would have a purpose then, at least to a 6-year-old.

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.