Can you use jquery to get the selected value one dropdown list while in the javascript function of another dropdownList

Can you use jquery to get the selected value one dropdown list while in
the javascript function of another dropdownList

Can you use jquery to get the selected value one dropdown list while in
the javascript function of another dropdownList
This works fine when its in the javascript for the specific DropDownList
"ddlSelectedRole"
var ddListSelectedValue = $("#ddlSelectedRole").val();
But I need this value again when working in another dropdown list's
javascript funtion, but it wont return the selected value while I'm in the
function for another dropdownlost