It's funny to me that in a society where the political situation is such that in the last forty years or so one political party, in conjunction with the rise of individual partisan politics, has managed to effectively diminish the strength of the other party--so much so that so many of MY friends and peers are the ones who do not vote.
As a woman, and as a black person, I take pride in my right to vote, even if the outcome in this day and age is not (or ever has been?) really in my favor. Change can take time, but will never take place if we don't keep chipping away at the block that has been built against us. It seems to me that for at least three of the people that I know well who do not vote, the primary reason is more sheer laziness than apathy, but they themselves have given other reasons. One has taken a POLITCAL stance, for example, she is a vegan protestor who feels that we SHOULD be living in multi-party nation when in fact, we live in a two-party nation.
The following is part of an email conversation my friends have been having about why TO vote.
friend #1
yes I will feel ripped off if Bush is back in office, but it
won't change my decision to vote. Only through my vote, your vote,
the next person's vote, and so on is change possible. If too many
people act (or don't act in this case) along the lines of "oh my vote
doesn't matter cuz Bush will be re-elected regardless", there is no
doubt he'll get a 2nd term. Get out and vote! ;)
friend #2
I vote because:
(1) It's one of my only rights afforded me in this
country, and my diaspora ancestors (since my family is
immigrants) couldn't. Many died fighting for this
right because it's recognition of your individual
influence in this country....and recognition of you as
a person/citizen (which they weren't)
(2) Someone's going to get elected anyways so why not.
So if you don't vote don't EVER bitch about problems
in this country that are decided by
politics/government, cuz you "gave" up your right
(speaking in general).
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