As Mr. Donald Trump officially becomes the new president of the United States of America, I find it within my reasoning that I must share this with the American people. This isn’t about Donald Trump, nor is it really even about the election. This is something that I hold dear and while many of you may not agree with it, I find it my within my interests that you at least understand where I am coming from. Personally, I don’t believe one should feel obligated to vote.

You disagree? That is okay. This isn’t an attempt to disparage you or make you feel contempt about your belief in any way. In fact, I will have to admit that at one point, I did once hold it to my personal set of ethics that one must vote, no matter the circumstances. Anyhow, it is no longer that I hold that among my beliefs. I, as an American citizen of this country, do not believe one should feel obligated to vote.

I understand that statistics do show that the lack in voter turnout in this country has a lot to do with the ignorance many of us hold that our vote will not count, make a difference, or matter. I am aware that the reason many of us do not vote is because we do not find it to be worth our time to make a trip to the polls and fill out a ballot. Yes, perhaps all of that is true, that the lack in voter turnout is a result of those reasons. I am in no way trying to counteract any facts, as I am aware and not afraid to admit that the facts are probably true, as to why many do not vote to elect the president of our country. Nevertheless, I am here to give you a reason as to why we should not ostracize or even make one feel the slightest bit shameful for not voting.

We can all agree that voting is a powerful thing. Voting is a tool, a weapon I should say, a very powerful weapon that we, the American people, are given to change the course of history. In fact, voting can be an extremely powerful weapon. Yes, it is powerful in that we, the American people, have the ability to contribute towards the decision of who is gifted with that seat in office. However, voting also has the sort of power where if used incorrectly, ignorantly, foolishly, or dishonestly, the wrong person can be placed in office. Not only was the “wrong” nominee elected, but that nominee was elected by the incorrect person, with the incorrect knowledge. I am sure you have all heard a million times that you should go vote because your vote counts, because your vote matters. Does it? Take an uneducated citizen who holds absolute no interest in politics whatsoever, and is completely clueless as to what is currently going on in the political arena. Does their vote count? They do not know anything about who they are voting for, nor do they know what kinds of policies they are voting for. Does their vote count? I mean, does it really truly count? Personally, I believe that for a vote to count, it must be an educated vote. It must be a knowledgeable vote. It must be an informed vote. That vote must be taken with wisdom, confidence, and pride! So, yes, I guess you could say their vote counts, but did it count for all the right reasons? Many of us say that we should all vote no matter what because this is a democracy. However, to tell an uneducated, ignorant, uninformed, and uninterested person that they must vote, that is not a democracy. In fact, I would have to say that that is ignorant in and of itself.

Voting is a right, a right that we must earn by conforming to the set of rules and laws established by our government, the institution that also presents us with the right to vote. Men and women have fought for their lives so that some of us could have the right to vote, women and people of color in particular. It is true. It is very much true that people did make sacrifices and put their lives on the line so that some of us could have the right to vote, extraordinary men and women. Martin Luther King Jr. and Susan B. Anthony are two notable figures that we will forever remember as phenomenal civil rights leaders in history. Yet, they did fight for voting to be a right, nothing more and nothing less than a right. Just like we all have the right to hold a job, eat in a restaurant, own a home, and drink out of a water fountain, voting is another one of our rights, in that we have it in our power to make that choice.

Some of these extraordinary civil rights leaders, including Anthony and King, did fight for us to have this right, the ability for us to choose to vote, but also the ability to choose not to vote. People fought for their lives so that others could have the right to vote, but they also fought for the right to make it an educated vote, an informed vote, a confident vote. It would be outrageous for one to say that one is a disgrace to such historical leaders if one makes the choice not to vote. To even oust out a woman or a black man for not voting would be outrageous. It is outrageous! That woman or that black man who now feels contempt for not voting, it turns out that they chose not to vote because they didn’t feel educated. They chose not to vote because they felt uninformed. They chose not to vote because they felt the need to get themselves more involved in the political atmosphere before they would even think about making such an important decision, a decision that decides who gets the seat at the head of the table and make the decisions for the country, their country. That person, who was made to look like a disgrace for not voting, chose not to vote because they did not want to end up electing the wrong leader, a leader that would make the worst decisions, and decisions that would potentially have negative consequences.

Take this past election for instance: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. To anyone that has ever called out someone for not voting, what makes you so sure that you successfully persuading that person to vote wouldn’t result in that person putting in a ballot for Mr. Donald Trump? Anyone that did not vote in this past election for whatever reason, assuming that they were eventually lured into voting, what makes you so certain that they wouldn’t vote for Trump? They didn’t vote for Donald Trump because they were educated on his policies. They didn’t vote for Trump because they were educated on what was going on in the political spectrum. They didn’t vote for Trump because they truly supported him. They voted for him because they were so convinced that they must hold it as an obligation to vote, regardless of their level of education or knowledge. Therefore, their vote was feigned, forced, and artificial. The action one takes in choosing not to vote, because they didn't feel educated enough, or because they didn't truly believe either candidate has the utmost decency to hold office, that in and of itself is an act of responsibility.

So don’t feel obligated to vote...unless you are educated, informed, involved, and supportive. We shouldn’t be promoting the idea that voting should be an automatic responsibility. We should be promoting the importance of educating one’s self in the political realm, and how important it is to be informed when making one’s voting decision. If you are not educated, don’t feel like you have to vote. If you are not informed, don’t feel like you have to vote. If you find that you don’t believe in, nor support either candidate, don’t feel like you have to vote. Don’t make your vote be an obligation or a requirement. Make your vote be about pride, reverence, and honor. Your vote shouldn’t indicate a mandate or command. Your vote should indicate your education, knowledge, and moral judgement. Voting shouldn’t reflect a rule or guideline. Voting should reflect you.