A few weeks ago, I read a tweet that came across my timeline reading that the reason they would not be voting in this primary election was that Bernie is no longer on the ballot. I can't tell you exactly how frustrated I was when I saw the same person tweet at a later time that even if Bernie endorsed Biden, Biden still did not have their vote and would still not be voting in this primary. These tweets were maybe two months ago but for some reason, they cause me to feel sick to my stomach upon seeing how many retweets that tweet had garnered.
Not voting is the most ignorant action you can take and speaks highly of your privilege since you don't think the outcome of this election will affect you in any way. It is gut-wrenching to me to know that there are even many people between the ages of 18-28 years of age who believe this. As it is, the statistics confirm that in the election of 2016, only 46.1% of people from the ages of 18-29 showed up to the polls, compared to the people over the age of 65 who had an overwhelming presence of 70.9%. Generation Z, we need a harsh reality check, the idea that your vote will not make a difference or not caring to chose between "the lesser of two evils", is a spit in the face to every person who fought so hard to ensure your voting rights and to the people who would love to vote but legally can't.
We need to rise up and realize that we are letting the citizens of this country who are in retirement have incredible voting turn out edge over us, almost double our turn out! Who will see the consequences? Us. If we do not show up to the polls to make a difference in this election and ensure that our voices are heard, it will be our fault. We owe it to ourselves and our future generations to vote in this election. It is our basic civic and moral duty to ensure that we no longer tolerate ignorant and crass individuals in high seats of power.
I understand that people are looking at this election saying, "which of the two evils will we be settling for?" or "my vote doesn't really matter", but it is my opinion that looking at it from either viewpoint is very defeatist and quite wrong. Educate yourself on both candidates, what they are promising, and what they stand for. We are so beyond blessed to have a voice in putting a vote on who we think should represent this country. You know in your mind, which candidate is more aligned to your views depending on which party that you affiliate with.
It is a rare occasion when you 100% agree with everything a candidate stands for, does that mean you're going to throw away your vote entirely? I really hope not, because if that is the case consider it a direct vote for the other parties running candidate.
I urge you to vote for climate change. I urge you to vote for basic human rights. I urge you to vote for women's reproductive rights. I urge you to vote for environmental justice. I urge you to vote for the battle against social justice issues.
From the words of Alexander Hamilton, "If you dont stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
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