Speak Up, Be Heard

Voting: No Different From Our Everyday Decisions

We make choices every day. Who we are as a person is an accumulation of all of our decisions. The choices we make reflect our tastes, our dislikes, our confidence, and our security. What does your style say about the person you are, and how do the people around you influence the person the public sees when they look at you?

All of these things are a matter of opinion, and they are subject to change. Because these are the choices you make for yourself, no one can judge you. All of these things that I described are equivalent to Voting. Voting is a matter of stating your opinion, and we do this all the time on social media. We state a million different things online every day about the way we live our lives, our dreams, goals, and aspirations. When you vote, you are securing your future. You are making sure that the person in office is protecting your dreams, goals, and aspirations. Your voice does matter, and it makes a huge difference. It is important to elect a candidate you believe protects the ideals in which you live your life by every day. Otherwise, it will be like attending a class that you love, but it has been taught in a language you don't understand. Would you stay in that class, or would you transfer? Maybe that class is not what you thought it was, perhaps that candidate or political party is not what you thought it was, it is OK to change your mind, but not voting is putting yourself at a considerable disadvantage.

If you don’t know enough about politics to have a voice, seek information. We do research when we want to find the best restaurant or the best hangout spot in certain cities. Why can't we do research on the people that have the influence to make change? A teacher said to me, "Voting at every level is local politics." We are constantly reminded that this election is the most important election of our lifetime. This view has been expressed not only in 2020 but in 2016, 2012, and during every other Presidential election. Each time that it has been said, It has been true. Voting on all levels IS local politics. The people we elect will affect the county, the state, and the nation we live in. In our nation's history, we often blame the people in charge for the country's state, but every election year over 1 million people choose not to vote. Both locally and nationally, roughly 43% of eligible voters don't even bother to fill out ballots.

We must hold each other accountable. No one should sit out on this. Reach out to the friends and family members who might need a reminder to vote, make a plan to vote together, and then challenge three friends to do the same.

Author: Tileeyah Rogers, Fall 2020 Intern