Political views aside, it’s likely that you’re eighteen years of age or older and eligible to vote. If you’re attentive of your ability to use that right, you’ll also know that election day is Nov 4, just a few days away.
Though most young Americans are able to vote, many decide not to do so.
Several incentives to abstain are that some believe their vote is so insignificant it may as well not count, or the predicted result leans so far one way that going against the likely outcome seems foolhardy.
Some even more ominous notions are that your voice doesn’t count unless you’re rich and white, the elections are rigged, and it’s annoying to be asked after how you voted afterward. Perhaps the one that induces the most teeth grinding among those of us who understand the importance of voting, is that some don’t care about the issues or candidates, so they decide to remain ignorant and uninvolved.
This lethargy is debilitating to our society. So many people will fervently argue about politics or have something they need to get out regardless of the information they contain, yet a large portion of our age group decides not to go to the ballot box despite complaining about how our government runs. If you don’t vote, you lose your right to complain.
You can’t expect people to care about your concerns or arguments if you decide not to participate by performing your most basic, American right: suffrage.
Your vote is just as significant as Bill Gates’ or Bill O’Reilly’s. It’s just as significant as the vote of arguably the most powerful persom in the United States, President Barack Obama.
Of course, it’s true that there are those who possess more influence in government from their wealth, the media, and even because of their race, but in the end you owe it to yourself to remain knowledgeable about issues and understand that every vote is equal in its ability to give representation of America’s values and political desires.
How can one expect anything to get done unless people vote? This country is a democracy, founded on the belief that the people dictate the way we are to do things to create change or continue American traditions. How can someone not want to influence that? It’s incomprehensible that anyone can give up that power and right.
If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for the men and women who died so you could vote. Do it for the men and women who were imprisoned, tortured, beaten, slandered, and put through myriads of struggles so that every American can participate in elections.
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton gave over fifty years of their lives arguing for women’s suffrage, both dying before the nineteenth Amendment was passed. Most of you are only about twenty or so. Try to imagine fighting for something so important to you that you’d spend more than double the amount of time you’ve been on this earth to achieve.
Suffrage was important in the Revolutionary War. Suffrage was important still after the Civil War. The right to vote, the ability to have a voice and say in how the government works; no matter how small you may think your ability to participate in our country, it’s critical to understand that you have as much potential and sway as any other voter. Become involved in local legislatures. Become involved by briefly perusing headlines and taking the time to think on what issues matter to you so you’ll know what candidates most embody your similar concerns.
Voting is your most basic, inalienable right. You pay taxes, put up with the chaos of the American legal system, and live in this country. Don’t turn your back on the struggles of past generations, and don’t dare ignore your posterity by ignoring the issues concerning modern today. Why should you be content in listening blindly to the views of authoritative figures? Learn to think for yourself and take the time to fill out a simple online ballot if you can’t get somewhere in person. You cannot complain and expect something to happen unless you take it upon yourself to create change.

-Mason Kruize