Go vote!
There may be nothing less American than not voting; it’s like saying that it’s not worth a little bit of your time to have a say in…
- How your community is governed
- How your county is governed
- How your state is governed
- How your country is governed
- Who speaks on your behalf
- Who makes decisions on your behalf
- How your money is spent
- Who makes the laws you have to live by
- How decisions are made about your life
- How decisions are made about your children’s lives
- How decisions are made about you parents’ lives
- How decisions are made about your siblings’ lives
- How decisions are made about the lives of your other family members
- How decisions are made about the lives of your friends
- How decisions are made about the lives of every one else in your community
- How your neighborhood is policed
- How quickly help will come if your house catches on fire
- Who will feed poor children if the schools shut down
- How much gas costs
- How much food costs
- What you’re allowed to read, watch, and listen to
- That you’re allowed to read, watch, and listen
- How much it costs for you to stay healthy
- Your freedom to go to church
- Your freedom to not go to church
- Your freedom to vote and have a say in all the important decisions that affect your life and the lives of everyone you know and love
Even if it’s indirectly, voting has a hand in everything on that list.
I could sit here all day and come up with things that people say they don’t care enough about when they choose not to vote. The long and short of it, however, is that not voting essentially shows that a person doesn’t care about too much more than themselves. (If this offends you, it is no more than I’m offended when you don’t vote.) The irony, as this list points out, is that the most important thing we can do for ourselves is to vote.
And for those who just don’t care to vote because “it’s not like it does any good,” apathy isn’t much better than selfishness.
If we choose not to vote, we do a disservice to all of those people in the world who would love to vote but don’t have the freedom to do so. If you asked them, I imagine they’d say that being able to cast a vote would do some good, if only because they had the freedom to do so.
The rationale that voters tend to have with nonvoters is this: “If you don’t vote, you can’t bitch.” My question would be: “If you don’t vote, do you even care enough to bitch?”
Voting is our freedom and our right, and, as active members of our community, it is our duty. So, no matter who you vote for, show the rest of us that you care enough about all of us to take part in the process, and go out and vote. Today’s Election Day, so it’s too late to register for this one, but it’s not too late to register for the next one. Please do so; it really does matter, and it really does make a difference.
I am not exaggerating in the least when I say that I love each and every one of you. You’re in my warm thoughts and prayers.
Until soon…
Paulelmo's Blog 