Voter Apathy

Voter Apathy

Voter Apathy

Imagine that you live in a country where a dictator or the state controls your every move. You can't speak your mind out of fear of being imprisoned—worse yet, executed for your political beliefs if they differ from those in power. Basically, you have no rights as a citizen. You desperately want to make changes, but you can't—you have no control. All control is in the hands of a tyrant or tyrannical state.

As Americans, we don't have to worry about being thrown in jail just because we disagree with the president or other government officials. As Americans, we have basic freedoms because we live in a democratic society. We have political freedom—the right to vote as defined by our electoral process. Voting is inherent to the electoral process; for it to work, we must vote. The main reason why people don't vote anyhow is just because they know that the government does not care about one vote, but if many people take a stand and vote, maybe the government will start to listen. If the government listens, more of what matters to everyday citizens will get out to the public, and to the nations capital, and something will be done to better the society we call America today.

As Americans, we must do something about voter apathy because not only does voting allow us to be active in the political process, it enables us to fulfill our civic duty and exert our political influence. Contrary to public opinion, every vote makes a difference in this process. It may not seem like it, but if more people began to vote, they would get noticed.

To let our representatives know what we want, we must also exert our political influence by being politically active. How can we do this? We can vote in state, local, and national elections, lobby to persuade our representatives to vote a certain way, and write letters to our representatives about policy issues. Of course, there are other ways of being politically active; to me, these are the most effective. One thing needs to take place, and that is change, pure and simple.

I feel as though the government needs to allow teenagers to vote on how things affect their lives. If the government lowers the voting age to 18 more important issues will come out about high school violence, and other important issues.