The Importance of Voting
For a long time, I was not someone who was heavily involved in politics. In all honesty, I found it somewhat boring and did not see how learning about policies and plans would help or affect me. I had gathered my own opinions about the candidates for this upcoming election, but those opinions didn’t run any deeper than what I had seen on social media and television. It wasn’t until I was questioned why I had those opinions that I realized they were based on Instagram memes and Twitter threads. I didn’t know anything that the candidates stood for; I didn’t know their policies, I didn’t know what they had done in their past, and I didn’t know what they planned to do with our futures. I realized that by not informing myself of the candidates and their policies and not voting, I wouldn’t don’t have a say in my future.
With that new mindset, I began doing more research about this election. I made sure to be getting my information from valid sources and tried to ask questions when I didn’t understand something I had learned. After doing that research, what I had learned was that those policies and plans would affect me. Those decisions could affect my wage, healthcare, the climate I live in, my right to bear arms, and the overall equality I receive as a woman.
I realized that the time and effort I was pouring into understanding this election was time and effort to pour back into myself. I was educating myself on policies and plans that would directly affect me. When I would eventually vote, that vote would be a vote for myself and my future.
Then, after even more reflection, I realized something else. The time and effort I was pouring into this election was also time and effort being poured into my best friend. It was an effort being poured into my mother. It was time for my professor, my sorority sister, my classmate, and my boss. My vote would be more than just a vote for myself. It will also become a vote for the other people in my life. My vote would directly affect not only my future but their future as well. My decision will affect my mother’s healthcare options, my best friend’s chance for equality, and my future children’s chance of living in a clean world.
Another point to mention is the year that we have all had; 2020 has been full of challenges for all of us. Everyone has been affected in some way by what this year has brought with it. This includes the 8 million Americans who have been infected with the coronavirus, to the re-sparking of the Black Lives Matter movement due to the murder of George Floyd. These events have directly impacted people in a way that change has been demanded. Voting is one of the best ways to begin making that change. Voicing your opinion and participating in the election is one of the best ways to create a policy to facilitate the change that our country is in need of. By voting, you are creating an explicit step in the direction of that change. By not voting, you are forfeiting the right to ask for change. Your vote could be looked at as your voice. By choosing not to participate in voting is almost like choosing to stay silent.
According to Associated Press News, there have already been 58.6 million ballots cast already. Those are 58.6 million people who are using their privilege to vote for themselves and the other people in their lives. 58.6 million people have already decided that they do want a say in their future. Those people chose to use their voices and avoid staying silent and shouting for the change that we all deserve. Be like those people. Remember why you’re voting and refuse to stay silent.