A lot of people are turning 18 this year. I guess that’s what happens when you’re a Senior. Anyway, when you turn 18 you get to do a lot of things. Go to jail, get a tattoo, change your name, and perhaps the most exciting of all, being able to vote!

Personally, I’m pretty excited to vote. It’s kind of cool to finally have a say in the government.

One thing I’ve noticed, however, is that not everyone is as excited as me to vote. Further than that, some people just don’t want to go vote at all, despite their ability to register and vote in the next election.

Personally, I don’t think most things are outright stupid. I think that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and every opinion has some value even if I don’t agree with it.

But me disagreeing with something usually doesn’t make me think it’s stupid.

That being said, I think that choosing not to vote is outright stupid.

I just don’t get it. What bothers me a lot is that voting is a privilege, not something that everyone gets to do.

Obviously, we don’t really think about it like that, but that doesn’t change the fact that voting is something a lot of people wish they could do but never will be able to.

You get the luxury to help to choose how your country works. If you have the ability to do that, I really think you should.

And honestly, I think that you should vote even if you really don’t like one nominee.

There’s never going to be a perfect candidate, but chances are, there’s someone you agree with more. Or at least their values are more aligned with yours than the other. Idk.

I would just find it hard to believe that in any given election, each person running holds the same value for an individual.

Because even if you feel like one person is bad, at least one will be less bad than the other.

That sounds questionable, but that’s sort of how our democracy works. Choose the lesser of two evils.

I’ve also heard people say in regards to justifying not voting is that they don’t agree with the electoral college or political parties or whatever. Which is fine. I too disagree with the electoral college, but that wouldn’t stop me from voting.

I doubt the Electoral College is going to change under the current administration. Just saying.

If you really want to change something, you have to vote to change it. That’s sort of the point of voting.

Like it or not, structural change doesn’t come about as a result of complaining. Believe me, I’ve tried that. The only way to really try to make that kind of change is by choosing legislators that want the same changes you do.

Or you can run for office, but that seems a lot harder than filling out some forms. To each their own, I guess.

There are a lot of bad things happening in our country right now. People will disagree with me about what exactly is bad, but that’s besides the point. No matter what you think, inaction is complacency; if you don’t try to change something, you’re essentially saying that you’re okay with it.

What matters is that as we get closer to the 2020 elections, it’s more important than ever that we exercise our right to vote, even if it seems pointless.

The future is (sort of) in our hands. Let’s try not to screw it up.