Exercise your rights

There is no reason not to vote. Absolutely none. It is part of your civic duty as an American citizen to participate in the democracy that defines us in the international realm. This means voting, at the very least. I voted for the first time when I was seventeen, before I had even graduated from high school. In Virginia and some other states, if you turn eighteen before the general election, you can vote in the primary proceeding it. I did; I checked each of the candidate’s websites, learned about their platforms, and made an informed decision. I have voted in every election and primary since, most of the time mailing in an absentee ballot from my dorm room. I thought every college student would be doing that, since we weren’t able to vote in person. It surprised me to see that none of my friends had requested ballots and wouldn’t be voting. It just wasn’t on their mind. How, as an American citizen, can this not be on your mind? How can you live in a democracy that prides itself as the forefront of liberty and equality and not work to keep that spirit alive? How can educated college students not understand the value of their vote? Of their voice? How can you be 20, 30, 40 years old and not have voted before? How do you call yourself an American?

My generation cares about politics, or at least seems to. We like to call ourselves politically active and knowledgeable but the vast majority of us aren’t. When I see posts on social media, sometimes I have to roll my eyes. There are grave misconceptions about government and politics, which I was only able to overcome by taking classes in the discipline. From a young age, I have cared about American government: I was involved in student government throughout secondary school, I contacted my local officials, I listened to NPR on my morning commute. My freshman year of college, I tutored a course about the foundations of American government. If I was at home for the November election, I would be a poll worker. So, when it came time to register to vote, it was a no brainer. It still shocks me that it isn’t that simple for most people. My older siblings don’t vote or just started to, even though they’ve had more years of opportunity than me. My college friends still aren’t registered. I understand that people didn’t grow up with the same interests that I did and are less knowledgeable about the political process. However, as college students in the 21st century who have access to the internet in our pockets, there is absolutely no reason to remain ignorant. It takes five minutes to register to vote. It takes twenty to research candidates, if you’re diligent about it. It takes ten minutes to walk and mail out our ballots. Not voting is laziness. Not voting is ignorant. Not voting is un-American.

But you shouldn’t care only when an election happens. You should care in the primaries. You should care about state, local, and federal government. You should care about the bills on the floor, the cases in the Supreme Court, and the governor’s addresses. How many of us can name our elected officials off the top of our heads? I didn’t, until I sought them out for myself. The key part of the political process that people fail to grasp is that the responsibility is on you. I wish this wasn’t the case, but it is through your own actions that you get involved, no one else’s. It isn’t hard to register to vote or even to do it, but it is energy spent in a different facet of life than what occurs in your daily life. It requires the retraining of your brain to think about things with the political lens. To be politically active means to be active, first and foremost. It won’t be handed to you, but through small steps you can become a strong participant in government.

I understand that there is a strong anti-American sentiment growing in my generation, or at least the media is perpetuating one. I understand that there are things happening in politics that people disagree with, me being one of them. But I do not understand accepting that as the way things should be. I do not understand being upset about it and giving up on our government. As the people for which this government was created, we are the ones who change it. With our votes and with our political participation, we create the government we want. That is how our country was founded, but it fails when the people don’t use it as they should. If only half of a state votes for their governor, the governor is not an accurate representation of what the people want. It makes sense that we would be dissatisfied with someone we didn’t truly want in power.

Voting isn’t the only way to be politically active, but it is the place to start. Vote in November and then vote again the next year, even though it won’t be presidential. Sign up to receive emails from your state and local representatives. Learn their names. Write them letters when you’re dissatisfied. Sign petitions- or better yet, write petitions. Watch a YouTube video on the basics of American government. Read a biography of your favorite American president. Attend school board and town hall meetings. Ask questions. Watch the news. Read a newspaper. Talk to your family and friends. Yes, talk to people about politics. To keep America as a strong, free nation, we have to rebuild the dialogue of government. It has been all but lost. We can talk to each other without agreeing. It may not always be easy, but neither is keeping the elephant in the room. As November gets closer, this dialogue is important. It is the building block of government and can easily turn the tide of history in the direction that we want it. But until then, don’t call yourself an American until you are a part of the political process that defines what "American" means.