I saw a post from a man named Robert Reich stating, “The largest party in America isn’t the Republicans or the Democrats; it’s the party of non-voters.” He goes on to say, “The biggest problem for our democracy isn’t regressive Republicans or spendthrift Democrats; it’s apathetic citizens.” Does that make you feel like shit? Well, it really got my panties in a wad and that’s what inspired this little rant.

It’s a popular phrase for people to say, if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain. I guess if you don’t vote, you’re still entitled to your own opinion- bc ‘Murica- but what I’m really trying to get at is that, if you don’t vote, I think I’m going to have a hard time respecting you and your future complaints.

First off, voting is pretty easy. Yeah, there are some ways that voting can be a complicated process, especially for college students, but I’ll leave that for another time. Overall, voting is pretty damn easy. You either A- request that your ballot be mailed to your doorstep, and then you walk it 10 feet to your mailbox, or B- you drive to your polling place, which is probably less than five minutes from where you live.

If you didn’t do either of these two things to take advantage of one of the largest privileges of being American, I have a hard time understanding your decision. If you didn’t vote you didn’t even exert the very minimal amount of effort required to create change. If you were too self-centered or lazy to do something about your discomfort with our current political situation, you have forfeited your right to complain.

The best (most pathetic) reason I’ve heard for not voting is over the individual’s level of disappointment with our current political climate, specifically the selection of candidates. To this I offer two retorts. Did you vote in the primary? No? Okay- shut up. And secondly, were you aware of the fact that the General Election Ballot is the method for deciding on other monumental decisions, such as Constitutional Amendments?

The second best excuse I heard from college students is that they weren’t registered in the district they attend school and election volunteers “would not let” him/her vote. I actually overheard two separate conversations while I was at my polling place of individuals asking if there was any way that an exception could be made even though the addresses on their drivers license and voter registration cards were not the same. So what you’re saying is that you had four years to figure this out and you did nothing? FOUR YEARS.

I’m astonished that anyone enrolled in college, someone that’s expected to be thrown into the adult world in less than four years, could be so damn irresponsible. How many banners, signs, registration booths, canvassing calls and e-mails did you have to ignore to become so negligent that you could not successfully figure out how to vote after eighteen plus years of life?

Were you one of those people that posted something in outrage on Facebook when Brock Turner was sentenced? If you were and you didn’t vote, you forfeited the right to complain about such issues in the future. You gave up the right to choose the judge, justice or attorney that were influential in this, and other, legal outcomes. I get that you don’t want to pick between presidential candidates but you’re also letting other people chose your State Attorney, Supreme court justices, district court judges and court of appeals judges, all people whom have the discretion to determine your fate if you were to encounter in a court room.

If none of this makes you feel like a lazy delinquent, let me just mention that as of post-election night, Trump won Florida by a reported 128,275 out of a total of almost 10,000,000 casted votes. Do you still feel like your vote wouldn’t have made a difference?

Lastly, if you had just voted I wouldn't have had to write this.