If this election year is notable for anything (besides the increase of interest toward 3rd parties) it’s the activity among the voting public. There are fewer and fewer people trying to avoid the election or political talk altogether, which is something that aggravated me in previous elections. Because you simply can’t avoid politics.
Now this isn’t me saying that you have to be all about politics all the time. But you can’t avoid participating in it entirely. If you do absolutely nothing about it, you’re still affecting the system. Every person that doesn’t vote makes the vote of the people that do worth that much more. And every person that doesn’t protest or speak out about the things going wrong allows said wrong things to continue to happen. As the old saying goes, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” (Edmund Burke).
But not only can you affect politics, but the reverse is true. In our day to day lives, laws and government policies shape the things we do. Why does the cashier ask you for your license when you buy alcohol? Because of the law. Why did you get pulled over from your broken taillight? Again, the law.
It’s important to note here that the president alone can’t shape our laws entirely. In fact, the American system was set up specifically to prevent any one person from having that much power over a country. So while it’s important to vote for the president, that’s only one of the people you should be looking into. There’s Congress, the Senate, and the House of Representatives (for any of you who weren’t unfortunate enough to have to site through a Civics class) all of whom have a part in deciding what laws are passed and blocked. (Yes, and the Supreme Court, but we don’t really have as much of a say in that aspect).
In the past, Congress has pulled such delightful moves such as giving themselves multiple raises from tax-payers money and literally shutting down from a lack of cooperation between major parties. And there are no term limits for Congress, the same people pulling those stunts can keep coming back until they literally die. And it won’t be stopped until someone stops it.
By the time Tuesday rolls around, you’ll probably be sick of people telling you to vote, so I’ll try not to drag on. As I write this (November 6th 2016) even the Google doodle on the site’s main page has the word “vote” in multiple languages. But as aggravating and annoying as the verbal brow-beating can be, it’s important. And sadly, a lot of people still don’t do it. While this election year has more people voting than usual, there are still those that try to avoid the entire thing. But if you live and breathe on the earth, you’re affected by it. There’s a reason the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. So if you’ll forgive me for saying it one more time: VOTE.