The first day of my Public Opinion class, the professor said, “Raise your hand if you voted in the most recent presidential election.” Almost every hand is in the air, and I am sitting in the front of the class, with my hand down. Everyone is looking around the entire class, acknowledging those who vote and judging those who did not; the ones who failed to fulfill their civic duties.

I cannot speak for the other students in my class who did not raise their hand, but I did not vote because I could not vote. I was too young.

Everyone has their own personal reasons to vote, or not to. Some may believe that in the grand scheme of things, a single vote really does not matter. Or, perhaps you do not support any of the candidates who are in the election, and you cannot choose between the two to determine who isn’t the greater evil. Maybe you legally can’t.

You are too young or not a citizen of the United States. On the other hand, we live in a democracy and have the privilege to vote so why not take advantage of the opportunity that others across the world are envious of. Subjectively, each individual can defend the reason behind their decision to, or not to, vote. And whether you accept the reasoning behind the action is also completely subjective.

Regardless of your reason not to vote, there are inevitable consequences. Being on a college campus, I am exposed to so many different people from various backgrounds all with their own personal opinions and ideas. Given the diversity that exists, it is unrealistic to expect complete harmony with everyone you meet. Especially after controversial elections, such as the past presidential election as people’s opinions are quite polarized. You will find individuals who are outspoken about their ideas as they believe they are on the “right” side of life.

More often than not, while partaking in a discussion with someone you may not politically agree with, they will ask whether or not you voted. If you say no, you are suddenly put in a position that dismisses the legitimacy of your right to “complain”. If you didn’t vote, you shouldn’t have a say in the outcomes that diverged from the election you opted out of because you didn’t engage yourself and play a part in changing the results, right?

If this were the case, the general public should engage in all elections. Only by taking part in all elections of all levels of government would you be certified the right to have a say in the political atmosphere and validate your right to voice your opinion, yes?

We are so quick to dismiss opinions that may not completely align with our own. We believe we are politically correct and being proved otherwise is humiliating. So rather than having our opinions dismantled, dissected and analyzed by others, we shut down these discussions with any excuse we can, even with something as weak as, “You didn’t vote, so why should you have a say in what the current political situation is?”

We need to get over this fear of being proven wrong. The satisfaction that you may gain of being “right” is not worth the invisible boundaries you draw between yourself and others. Newsflash, no two people will have the same opinions. If we keep to ourselves and even prevent the start of discussions, how can we expect any societal development and growth?

Our differences may define us, but they should not isolate us.