Election Day is Tuesday, and it is time once again for us to remind our readers of their duty to vote.

Out of curiousity, we decided to take a look at what we wrote four years ago. Surprisingly, or not, we think it just as true today.

We began by notting that folks probably wouldn’t need much of a reminder to vote, and we don’t suspect that has changed this time around. As we noted the, “With seemingly so much going wrong in the world, we’re pretty sure most people already have all the impetus they need to get off their keisters and head to the voting booth on Tuesday.”

But on the off-chance anyone needed additional incentive to head to the polls, we offered these five issues:

• The looming economic recession that the nation moved one step closer to last week, when figures were released showing that the Gross Domestic Product contracted 3 percent.

• The crisis in the global financial markets, which points to serious internal weaknesses in the economy, as well as future troubles ahead.

• Our addiction to foreign oil, which not only puts a pinch on family pocketbooks, but also threatens our security in the world.

• The quagmire we stumbled into in Iraq, as well as the war that remains unfinished in Afghanistan.

• The record debt our nation has run up, which will inevitably be repaid by our children as well as ourselves.

As we said, not much has changed. Oh, sure, the “looming” recession finally arrived, and its effects seem intent on hanging around awhile. And while we’re not in Iraq anymore, our troubles in that area of the world are far from over.

Those issues do not even touch on global warming, health care, Social Security and Medicare, education or government corruption, any of which should be reason enough to take an active interest in government.

The fact remains that we continue face huge challenges along the road ahead, and we will likely encounter more pain before experiencing any relief.

And that leads us to our final thoughts on the 2008 election. We think they are just as appropriate in 2012, and we’ll just repeat them here:

“And all of that is true regardless of who comes out on top on Tuesday. The problems we face loom to large to be solved on Election Day, whatever person, party or ideology we collectively choose.

“What we can do on Tuesday is set the stage for the solutions we need to be discovered and implemented. The choices we make will influence how we approach the problems of the present and the future, and we must therefore choose wisely.

“However, the one choice we cannot afford to make is the choice of nonparticipation. The problems we face are too significant for anyone to not take part.

“Our future is being decided now. Whatever other choices you make on Election Day, make your first one the choice to vote.”

– The Floyd County Times