The Importance of Voting

In their matching rocking chairs, my grandparents squint at the small print on their voter's ballots as they carefully mark their choices. Across the table from Grandpa, I eat a ham sandwich and listen to stories of battle that were his reality, but to me are scenes from an unrealistic black and white movie. Over an evening of dominos, I listen to their passionate discussion of the recent initiatives and issues facing our government. To Grandpa and Grandma, democracy and freedom are not simply ideals; they are vital principles that they have personally sacrificed to uphold. Voting is an expression of their feeling of personal responsibility for the course of their country. During my months in their home I learned many things from my grandparents. I learned that it is a privilege of the young to be able to bend over without pain. I learned that it is a privilege of the healthy to be able to go an entire day without medication. I learned that it is a privilege of the American to be able to have a voice in their government. I learned that these privileges are never to be taken for granted, for there are many who suffer without them.

Today, many people are asking my generation why we do not vote, why we do not care about our government. Officials are not elected by the majority anymore. As evidenced by the number of voters, the majority does not care. Why? I do not believe that there is a simple answer to that question, or a simple solution to the problem. Do we not value our freedom, or do we not feel that our voice will be heard? I think it is a little of both. This generation of "young people" has not yet had to pay a high price for freedom. Our rights were handed to us by those who lived before us. I think in some ways we do not value democracy because we have not paid for it. Grandpa and Grandma paid that price for us.

Another missing element of our attitude toward government is personal responsibility. Many people of my generation feel that there is no point to voting. One voice can do very little to influence the course of government that seems very far away and sometimes unjust. Rather than talking over dominos about the current initiatives, we sit on our lunch break and complain about how much the government takes out of our paychecks.