With the oncoming election coming to an end (we all hope), everyone needs to take a step back and remind ourselves of something important that is vastly overlooked. Specifically in this election which has been ripe with controversial candidates, diluted debates, and irrepressible incidents. With many voters, specifically, ones in their early twenties, disagreeing with both candidates results in many debating to even fill in the Presidential ballot boxes. We have lost sight of the fact that we all have the right to vote, to choose who we believe to be the best choice to lead us as a country.
Our right to vote is one of our basic rights as American citizens. It is also possibly the most overlooked right that we possess. Every American citizen has the right to vote for whomever they want regardless of race, sex, intelligence, income, etc. Looking at it through this lens makes one realize that someone with a master’s degree in political science can vote alongside the unemployed 18 year old DJ who has a passion for collecting vintage magnets.
As we look deeper into this right, it is clear the bar is set quite low. The fact of the matter is, you should not encourage just anyone to go out and vote. We do not need voters that are pushed, muscled, or wheedled into a candidate. Specifically, with this particular election, both candidates' approval ratings are extremely low, and everyone is voting for whom they hate less--not whom they actually want to see be president. This election has been treated like an episode of "America’s Got Talent," and we put them there. Which leads to the notion that people allow others to persuade them to vote in one direction or another. You should never let someone else dictate who you wish to vote for.
Which brings into question a number of celebrities that express their concerns to go out and vote. Actively encouraging people whom they’ve never met to go out and vote for the candidate they decided to vote for. It’s laughable that celebrities tell people to get out and vote because it is their ‘civic duty,’ because casting your vote is more important than the actual outcome of the actual election, allegedly. But, to be frank, what do any of these celebrities really know? None of them are political scientists, so why should you listen to what an actor, musician, internet star, or anyone with a high public stature has to say about the candidate of their choosing.
It’s one of the few things that every single person is on an equal playing field. Just because everyone can do it does not mean everyone should. What we really need are people to actively participate in the process, and that begins with gaining knowledge. How can one do that? It begins with studying history, economics, etc. If you wish to actively participate, then you must be able to develop your own views that you can articulate and defend. Then you can discuss your opinions with others, shaping and forming your worldview like a ball of clay. In the next several years when the next election comes around, you vote for the candidate that you align with the most.
Or you know what? Don’t, because that is your constitutional right. Do not let a celebrity or family member guilt-trip you into voting for someone that you personally are not fully behind. Educate yourself and converse with others that have opposing views. But voting for the sake of voting is like buying a gun for the sake of buying a gun. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Acknowledge that voting is a collective right, and one we all need to start respecting and taking seriously.
