Why Vote?
by Sara on November 4th, 2008
Today is Election Day (of course). Because I’m studying in Minnesota this fall, I applied for an absentee ballot and voted about a month ago. It was my first time voting in a presidential race; I missed voting in 2004 by a mere few days (my birthday is November 9). I just wanted to shed some light on what I thought about when I was voting, and how I feel about voting.
When voting in general, I always think about my own context. What am I? I am a college student about to graduate and enter the workforce. What does this mean? I have a chunk of student loan debt. I am entering “the real world” in a few months with the (hopefully) adequate tools to succeed. I will be responsible for obtaining my own health insurance for the first time, or for enrolling in health insurance provided by my future employer. I am moving out of my parents’ house to live on my own. I am responsible for all of my own bills. I have to obtain car insurance on my own; I can’t be on my parents’ plan any longer. What else am I? I am a proponent of ethanol and renewable energy, of literacy, of equal access to education, of equal access to adequate health care, and of protecting and providing for the veterans who have served our country, to name a few issues.
When I vote, I also think about my friends and family, and how their world will be impacted by each candidate or each initiative. I think about friends that I have that deserve the right to marry whomever they choose to spend their life with, regardless of what is deemed an “acceptable” marriage in today’s society. I think about those that are in the military, and how their lives and careers will be impacted if these wars in the Middle East continue irresponsibly, or if we embark on warlike combat elsewhere. I think about those that are struggling to keep their homes, and how a new leader or new bailout plans will impact their very capability to remain in their homes. I think about all of us who struggle with high food prices, and all of us who are relieved to finally feel some reprieve at the gas pump. I think about all of us in the “middle class”, whatever that means, who pay our taxes faithfully while the elite of society evade, evade, evade, or believe that they shouldn’t have to pay more taxes because they make more money. I think about the people that I have interviewed and read about this fall who are struggling to buy Christmas presents for their children because the money just isn’t there, even though the government’s poverty line says they should be able to provide for their families.
It doesn’t matter what your context is; it matters that you vote. Vote within your context. Vote because you’re passionate about something. Vote because you have friends or family members or coworkers that will have life changes if you don’t. Vote to encourage, or prevent, changes in our governmental framework. Vote because you care about what happens in America. Vote because this election is the most important vote in decades upon decades of time. Vote because you’re educated enough to make your own decisions, and if you’re not educated on the issues, get educated. Vote because you feel called to. Vote because you’re inspired. Vote because you want to see change.
Vote because you can.