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VOTE TOMORROW! [Monday, Nov. 01, 2004, 11:47 am] Tomorrow is Election Day, and I'm not even going to mention a single political candidate today. And I'm certianly not going to tell you who you should vote for, because that's just stupid. All I want to talk about is how important it is for everyone over 18 to cast a ballot tomorrow.
I caught a few lines of a conversation behind me in English class a few weeks ago (yes, I have a bad habit of eavesdropping, but I can't help the fact that I'm generally an observant person). Two girls were talking about voting. One of them said something like, "Sometimes I think you're saying a whole lot more by not voting."
I have to disagree with that. I can understand how easy it is to become cynical about the government. Sure, it has problems, but there's no need to think "Oh the government is so messed up and there's nothing I can do about it, so why bother trying? blah blah blah." Yes, there IS something you can do. You can vote, which in reality is the LEAST you can do. You don't even have to be "into politics".
As George Jean Nathan said, "Bad officials are elected by good citizens who don't vote." (that explains how Clinton ever made it to office. Okay, sorry, I'll stop that).
As Americans, we have some incredible privileges. And if we'd just stop whining about our problems for once and look at the world around us, we might just appreciate these privileges a bit more.
Look at China. China is a communist nation. The people really have no rights. The government regulates what people see, do, and even how many children they can have! Religion is not allowed. Believers must meet secretly in order to meet at all, and even then face the constant threat of death or imprisonment for themselves and their families. When compared to China, we're just a nation full of spoiled brats.
Look at Vietnam, Haiti, Russia, or any third-world country if you want proof of the fact that we are an extremely privileged people. And yet, so many of us would rather sit on our butts tomorrow and complain about all the things that our government isn't doing for us.
Does our goverment have problems? Absolutely. Is the outcome of this election going to change that fact? Certainly not. But please, pick the lesser of 2 (or 3 or 4) evils. Vote for SOMEONE. You have absolutely no right to complain about what the goverment is doing if you don't at least vote.
Millions of men and women have died, been injured, and risked their lives so that everyone, including us, the spoiled, bratty, arrogant, cynical American teenagers, could have a say in the political scheme of things.
Don't snub your nose at the privilege. Someday it may be gone.
*Laura* wander -- travel
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Politics and Poverty - Friday, Jul. 24, 2009
Michael Jackson - Monday, Jun. 29, 2009
Elegy for Spotty - Wednesday, Jun. 24, 2009
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