As this election season finally winds down, ballots for millions of Americans will not be cast. These people, whether unenthused, too busy, or not registered, are about to sit out possibly the most important election of a generation. Now, I do not plan on turning this article into a sales pitch for the candidate that I will vote for this Tuesday. This is directed specifically at those who do not plan on voting on Election Day.
First and foremost, I get it. I completely understand why you would feel that you aren’t pleased with any of your choices this year. However, more often than not the perfect candidate does not exist. That’s why we a citizens must take the initiative to inform ourselves of each candidate’s platforms and choose which one we believe is best. It’s not an easy task with profit driven media spinning the news to push their own agenda, and a pool of bad information on social media and the internet, but I truly believe it is our duty as citizens to be informed about the politicians who we entrust with our livelihoods.
It’s easy to feel as if our voice does not matter in government. After all, for years the people in power have failed us on several issues that many of us hold dear. Gridlock, partisanship, and policy measures directed not to please us the American people, but rather special interests, campaign donors, and lobbyists, has been a theme of politicians for years. The results are a country and government so divided that when polls showed 90% of Americans wanted a law that would prevent people on the terror watch list from being able to buy guns, congress could not pass that law thanks to a majority of senators had been bought and sold by the NRA. That is far from an isolated incident, and it has caused millions to lose faith in the democratic process.
However, just because we lose faith is not reason to give up on our basic human right of voting. In fact it is more than our right, it is our duty. It is the lone power we have as citizens. We trust politicians to make laws, but they are nothing without our support and our votes. Which is why I say to all of you who have lost your faith in the government of this great nation, to use your power to change that. If you do not like the people in power, then vote them out. Politicians know there are many of us who are apathetic, and it makes their jobs easier. They can make laws that keep the dollars flowing into their re-election campaigns without losing votes because the majority of voters are uninformed. However, if we unite and inform ourselves on the issues to fulfill our duty and use our power to vote, we can vote take their power away from them. We can change this country for the better, all we have to do is vote.
