Vote while you can

This election year is supposedly going to bring in a lot of voters. I have heard from some news panels and from the general public that many of these votes will be coming from the younger voters. I can imagine this Election Day will be an important one, given the war over in Iraq and the more intense sense of national pride distilled in Americans since Sept. 11, 2001.

There was a time when women could not vote. There was a time when non-Caucasian people couldn’t vote. If you really take the time and think about it, the ability for every American citizen who is 18 and older to vote is a momentous ability – a true democratic society that lets the majority of the people decide what is best for them. Those who don’t vote have no right to complain when policies are changed and laws are revoked or put forth.

In the 2000 election, only 50 percent of eligible voters turned out to vote. As a democratic system, this is the kind of thing that puts the forefathers to shame. Have Americans become so complacent that they do not even vote for their leaders anymore? This country was founded on the basis that not only are all people created equal, but also they all have fundamental natural rights that cannot be taken away. What kind of democratic system are we living in today?

In this age where much of the emphasis is on the progression of societies and governments, there is such a thing as regression. Being left with fewer rights than initially given can demonstrate the questionable nature of our leaders intents, as well as the citizens themselves. Citizens with fewer rights have the danger of possessing no rights. Citizens with no rights are slaves.

So go out and vote on Tuesday. Take the time to get to those voting booths and choose the candidate you believe is best for leading this country – even if it’s Mickey Mouse. By demonstrating your right to vote, you are letting the state and federal governments know that you are an informed and mighty citizen of America. To let something as precious as your own rights slip away, is a crime against yourself.

You have rights, so you might as well use them to your advantage.