You have a right to vote…use it

Admitting one’s failure to vote should be a statement of social damnation.

This is because throughout America’s journey into the 21st century, too many people have been denied the right to have a say in what and how government interferes with their lives.

Sadly today, as our laughable voter-turn-out rates illustrate, rescinding on the basic right to vote is far too common.

It is aimless to go into a tangent on how at America’s inception, only white, property-owning men were granted the right to vote. We could conjure a series of editorials spanning until our last publication in December about the struggle women endured to be considered human-enough to enter a ballot box. And an even longer series about the African-American strive to vote would be in place. But their recall should always be a painful reminder of what so many had to face in order to enjoy a right many of us today find inconvenient.

Anyone who has closely examined the political climate of the 2010 election season may have found it bit of a mockery. This, admittedly, may deter even the most rational Americans to sit this election out. Doing this however, would be a big mistake with potentially grave implications. Without your vote, laws may be enacted over the next two years that could steer our local, state or national policy vehicles in the wrong direction. Furthermore, if it so happens that a particular law is not tailored to your liking, you won’t have any reason to complain ¾ you did not bother to participate, remember?

Although fines should be incurred by delinquent voters, the threat of receiving one should not be an impetus to utilize your only voice in government. It doesn’t seem like a bad idea, as Australia and several other countries have already done so (you do not have to guess what their voter turn-out rates look like).

So, tomorrow when you wake, up whether you vote or not, just remember that for a millennia people fought and selflessly died for the simple right to cast a vote. While the issues on the ballot are not as cut and dry, the failure to vote on Tuesday is message to our predecessors that they are life-struggle are not of any substance to our generation.