Casting a Vote Isn't Just for "American Idol"
By: Joyce Sutedja
Oh man, I know the feeling. You just got home from a long day of being
ignored in class with so many people, being ignored by the cool kids,
being ignored by your friends at lunch. Anything you said to your parents
went entirely unnoticed, and now you're at home, wallowing in the self-pity
of how nothing you do ever matters. Yeah, it definitely sucks.
You know what does matter, though? Your vote. And I'm
not saying that as some kind of cheesy, "You're awesome! Come vote
for us! Teehee!" campaigning technique. I'm saying that because
in the last elections, out of the 50.1 percent of eligible voters who
came out to vote (which is sad in itself), only a pitiful 28.7 percent
of young Americans, aged 18-24, voted. I'm saying that because, with
the world in the state that it is right now, we Americans need to be
wise about whom we are choosing to lead the most powerful country in
the world. And I'm saying that because, yes, every vote counts!
Now, I'm sure you've been beaten over the head with
this. All those trailers taking over campuses nationwide, all the commercials
you see on TV, all the newspapers and fliers advocating voting-all so
easy to ignore. Well, listen up. You, as an American, are a citizen
of this country. As a citizen, you have an obligation to add your voice
to the event that determines so much. This country, run by this democracy,
gives us the power to elect our leaders, to determine whom we trust
enough to take on the task of representing us to the rest of the world.
There are so many countries whose citizens have none of that power.
And while, yes, we are extraordinarily lucky to be here, that definitely
doesn't mean that it's smooth sailing from here on out. We have to fulfill
our obligation to our country by determining who we want to speak for
us. That is neither an easy nor unimportant task. You wouldn't want
some complete stranger who has none of the same views as you do, and
who you had no hand in choosing, saying just anything about you for
your college letter of recommendation, would you? What about that same
person representing you to the entire world? Kinda sketchy, right? That's
what I'm saying.
As my good friend (and self-proclaimed "amateur
politician"), Jonathan Nassar, said, "To further the democratic
spirit of the nation, you need to…know there are other opinions
than the majority." It's true; it's not majorities that win elections.
It's truly difficult to believe that every voter falls in one of the
two categories (Republicans and Democrats, for those who are insanely
out of the loop). So it follows that there has to be something else,
right? Well, the majority that makes up the people who voted for the
winning candidate is made up of several groups of minorities. Any of
the thousands of activist groups, ethnic groups, youth groups, religious
groups, etc. are the minorities that make up the votes a candidate needs
to win. Not one group in itself comprises a majority, and, as Mr. Nassar
said, "a candidate needs to get a bunch of them to win."
What I'm trying to say, in an excruciatingly long-winded
and possibly boring way, is that your vote counts. It's cliché,
I know, but it really does. If no one came out to vote, who would run
our country? And if we don't vote, it wouldn't make sense for us to
complain about the state of the world and the actions of our country,
since those of us who are of age have had the opportunity to demonstrate
our beliefs in the form of a ballot.
So when November 2 rolls around, I know hundreds of
thousands of us will be at the polls, making our votes count. I expect
you to be there, too. Make your opinion matter, for once! There's no
way you can tell me voting for "American Idol" is more important
than voting for America.
