Officials with the Friends of the Garnett Library will host a special presentation about voting for the first of this year’s “Celebrating Moments in Time” events.

Dr. Kathleen Morrison, professor of political science at Missouri State University-West Plains (MSU-WP) will discuss “Reasons to Vote” at 5 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Garnett Library, 304 W. Trish Knight St., in West Plains.

In her presentation, Morrison will give international and historical examples of why government matters, including:

• the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia in which the European governments recognized the right of each other to establish its own religious choices and to respect those choices
• the 1947 Truman Doctrine that guaranteed security against communist invasion among the nations of western Europe and Japan, creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
• the end of Apartheid and the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa in the 1990s
• the 1997 Good Friday Accords between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland that ended the Troubles
• the continuing conflict between Palestine and Israel

“Voting only matters if government matters,” Morrison said. “In the constant battle between chaos and order, democracy and autocracy, there have been many turning points where government has mattered.”

About the series

Offered for the first time last year, “Celebrating Moments in Time” is a series of speaking engagements designed to draw the community into the Garnett Library to share information and stories of historical interest to a broader audience, organizers said.

Light refreshments will be served. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend, organizers said.

For more information about “Celebrating Moments in Time” series, the Friends of the Garnett Library or how you can join, visit the organization’s website, WP.MissouriState.edu/FriendsOfGarnettLibrary, or call 417-255-7940.