In this day and age, the political season seems to never end. The campaign commercials scream at you every time you flip the channel. The newspapers are flooded with columns of banter about the candidates for President, and social media is filled with public opinion. For some citizens, this is the best time of the year. They get to voice their opinions on various domestic and international policies. To others the campaign ‘season’ is overwhelming and unwanted. They just want the election to be done. Over. Gone. They’re tired of hearing about policy. More than often I hear a large majority of people say, “I don’t like politics” or “politics are stupid”. And those are quotes on the lesser side of vulgarity.
But I want to make a remark to those that say these things and that they don’t care about politics; you should like politics and you should care.
You know how you just said that politics are dumb, and about how you think the government is stupid? Yeah, thank your first Amendment right for that. There are five protections guaranteed in the first amendment to keep the government stepping on your rights; most citizens can’t name all five. That is just the first amendment, there are 26 others in the constitution. If you don’t even know what the amendments and constitution cover, how as a citizen do you expect to protect your rights? If you don’t care about politics, you don’t care about your rights as a citizen.
Everybody has opinions, that’s a given fact. Some people share them more than others. If you never voice your opinion, you’ll never be heard. You can create change in this world and by watching it fly by you’re missing your chance to make an impact. So many say that if Donald Trump wins the 2016 election they’re moving to Canada. This is mainly because of the policies behind his campaign. If you don’t like them do something about it. Don’t just walk away hoping things will change, or that someone else will do it.
Not everybody will have the same idea as you, so go on and voice it. Don’t like the idea of limiting who is allowed into this country, talk about it. If you have a certain stance on the environment, let people know. If you’re reading this saying you don’t have a preference or don’t care what happens you’re lying to yourself. You should care because you live here and it will ultimately affect you at some point; taxes are a great example of this. If the government implements new environmental protection laws who do you think helps fund that? Not China. It’s coming straight out of your taxes. Interested in politics now?
The government is involved in most aspects of your daily life. You wake up to an alarm on a phone probably imported from another country granted by trade agreements. You turn on the lights which is regulated by electrical companies that are partially funded by the government. You eat breakfast that's been regulated by the FDA. The roads you drive on work each day, funded by the government. That package you received from your Aunt Peggy in Arkansas, thank the Post Clause. There is so many ways in which the government is affecting your life each day. If you continue to ignore it, you will miss the chance to step up when you find it affecting you in a personal way. Or not even notice it’s happening at all until it’s too late.
So please, use your right to vote, petition, and be active within your government system. I encourage everyone of you to go out and vote. If you don’t make it to the voting booth, then express your ideas to others and spread your word. Words can have great power (that’s why they’re protected in the constitution). Utilize your rights and do your part as an American Citizen. Don’t blame everything bad on the government. If you haven’t shown an interest of opinion nothing is going to change.
We’ve been “given a Republic, if you can keep it.” -Benjamin Franklin
