Unjust Cause: no good reason not to vote

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Paul Flipse
  • 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  On Tuesday, some Americans will select the next U.S. president.

I say 'some' because not all who can vote will choose to do so. In fact, if U.S. Census Bureau statistics for past voter turnout hold true, the number of eligible voters who will stay home instead of casting a ballot will top 70 million.

Seventy-million.

To put the vastness of this number in perspective--if, on Tuesday, all 70 million of these 'unvoters,' decided to form a conga line in celebration of their right not to vote, the resulting column would snake back and forth across America 16 times Or, if you like, nearly 5 times around the world.

So why would so many choose to let their voices stay quiet? I'm sure people have plenty of good reasons why they won't vote Nov. 4, I just can't think of any...

"My vote won't matter" 

If you think one more hayseed on a stack of millions won't matter, consider the fact that no winning U.S. presidential candidate has ever received more than 62 million votes. Or that since 1960, three elections finished with the winner and runner-up separated by less than 1 million votes. More than ever, your vote matters.

"I don't like either candidate" 

OK, so you think you'd be voting for the lesser of two evils. Forget the candidates for a moment and think about the issues. What matters to you? Are you pro-life or pro-choice? What's your opinion on the war in Iraq? Or health care? Taxes? The two men running for president have clearly-defined differences on how they would deal with these issues as president. Instead of getting behind a person, get behind an ideal.

"They won't do anything that will directly impact my life" 

I can understand feeling that nothing a U.S. president does in four or eight years will have an affect on the little guy. But wait--maybe these guys DO make a difference. Can you think of anything that has happened since President George W. Bush took office that might have been different had Sen. John Kerry or Al Gore won? Would Senator Bob Dole have made the same choices as President Bill Clinton? If Richard Nixon had won in 1960 instead of John F. Kennedy, would he have handled the Cuban missile crisis the same way? Or the space race? Truth is, presidents DO make a difference, and so can you if you vote.

"It's my right not to vote" 

It's true, Americans don't have to vote. But using that as an excuse to avoid the polls seems but a bit cavalier when you consider women and African Americans, who fought desperately for the right TO vote. Not to mention the countless others around the world still fighting. Just last year, a journalism student in Afghanistan was sentenced to death--later reduced to 20 years in prison--for bringing to his class an Internet article suggesting the religion of Islam didn't acknowledge women's rights. Call me crazy, but I don't think it would be such a bad idea to exercise your right to vote out of respect for a young man who won't have ANY rights for the next two decades.
And how about our men and women in uniform--are all of you planning on voting? No? Well, how would you feel if you didn't have a choice--if your commander gave you a direct order not to vote? According to the CIA, military commanders in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Kuwait and Oman give just such orders to servicemembers on Election Day. In Guatemala, not only are active-duty military not allowed to vote, on they are confined to their barracks on the day their president is elected.

Seventy-million votes.

Please, don't stay home on Tuesday. Don't waste your vote--if not for one of the reasons I've given you, then for any one of plenty more...

Vote with dignity, to honor the sacrifice of those who died to protect it. 

Vote with respect, to honor the struggles of those around the globe giving their lives to get it. 

Vote with conviction, to teach our children how important it is. 

Just vote, if only as a symbolic act of your absolute right to choose, with whatever ideology, in support of whatever cause, the manner in which you are led, the fairness with which you are treated and the preservation of freedom that comes with being an American.