Vote and bitch about things

Around the time of the midterm elections last month, I was speaking to a friend about the issues in the election and how they mattered to the young people in America. I was talking about Mark Foley, the deficit, the national debt, depletion of social security funds and the rest. He was unaware of all the issues and seemed surprised to hear some of the things I was saying. When I urged him to go vote and make his voice heard, he was carefree about it and just shrugged his shoulders saying that he wasn't registered and that he didn't even know that these were the issues and that no one was telling him about it and that he will vote when he is older. When I pointed out that all these issues were being covered in the news, he responded "I don't watch the news".

This kind of apathy about issues of the day seems prevalent on campus. Some people didn't even know that it was the day of the election. An election that the entire world was watching. At which point are you old enough? How can you expect to know what the issues are when you make it a point to stay uninformed? By the time you think you are old enough to vote, the damage might already be done.

Only one person responded positively when I asked her if she voted. My reaction was to show surprise and her response was "hey, the way I see it, I cant bitch about things if I don't vote".

I don't think Americans around my age realize how lucky they are to be able to go vote and make it count for something. Many countries still are unable to hold free and fair elections, mine being one of them. It pains me to see people throwing their vote away.

If for nothing else, vote so that you can bitch about things.