I'm really not that political. I’m about as typical as they come. I’m just a girl in college in her 20’s. I come from an average family who lives in an average neighborhood, with an average sized house. And to be honest with you, I’m really more concerned about graduating and getting a job than I am about who wins the next presidential election. I keep in touch with politics mostly because I know my dad will just get grumpier if another Democrat becomes president.
But whether I like it or not, another presidential election is coming up, and it is just now coming to my attention how many people my age, and Americans in general, don’t vote. Not just in small elections or elections that “don’t matter”… but in the Presidential election as well. They think it doesn’t matter, and that one vote doesn’t make a difference. But that’s not what it's about. Voting is about expressing your opinion, but it’s more than that… It’s more of a matter of principle. It’s about your freedom.
Remember that war we were just in? Yeah, the one where hundreds of thousands of Americans went overseas to Iraq to protect our freedom? This war itself should be a constant reminder of why we should call ourselves lucky to vote, simply because of the excitement in the air in Iraq on the first day the citizens could vote. The multinational force’s 2003 invasion of Iraq overthrew Saddam’s government (GO AMERICA!) and installed an interim administration. Although this happened in 2003, it took until January 2005 for Iraq to hold it’s first free elections in their history. If you google this event (which I would, if I were you), there are photos of thousands of smiling Iraqi people at the polls, eager to have a say, excited about influencing their government, all with an ink-stained finger (which, in Iraq, means they voted).
Most people in Iraq, and in the rest of the world in general, have absolutely no clue how easy it is to vote in America. In Iraq, there were still people that were against voting, and hundreds of people died that day just trying to vote and have a say. Yet here we are in the United States, hundreds of thousands of Americans just shrugging their shoulders and refusing to vote, when there are millions around the world that would literally die to be able to have our freedoms.
There is a big election coming up, and whether you are “interested” in politics or not… vote. Take advantage of the freedoms we have as Americans, and realize how lucky we are as individuals. MANY people have died for America to be… well, America.
Below are links that make it super simple to register or receive an absentee ballot.
For those of you that are pressed for time and have two minutes or less :
http://www.rockthevote.com/register-to-vote/
For those of you that live far from college and need an absentee ballot :
https://www.usvotefoundation.org/us-online-voter-registration?gclid=CL6ZuJvVp8cCFcESHwodRU4DmA
For those of you that want to know the rules and regulations for voting that every state has:
https://www.usa.gov/register-to-vote
Would you look at that, it's actually pretty easy and you can register from your computer. What a novel idea. Voting is important, people! See you at the polls.
