Alexandra

A magazine cover from 1950….

Not too long ago, we were not allowed to vote. We were silenced and voiceless because of the color of our skin, and that was the “law”. Things are different now…someone stood up for you and fought for you to have a voice, to be able to vote; someone even died for your right to vote. And yet, there are still people who choose not to vote, and they come up with whatever excuse they can for not doing so.

Something worse than having someone choose for you, decide for you, silence you…. something worse is when you silence yourself. When you give up your right and let someone else make choices and decisions for you. History repeats itself, and freedom and our rights can be compromised and taken away yet again. In fact, some of our rights already have been.

Whatever your excuse for not voting is, it’s not good enough. It is not ok to not exercise your right to vote, the right that you once didn’t have. It is not ok to make excuses. It is not ok for people to have died in vain. Even if you don’t vote for Obama or Romney, you have the option to vote for a third party. What matters is that you vote. What’s important is that you don’t let “them” take back your rights, or dictate you, or decide for you. It’s bad enough that “they” once took and still attempt to take our rights and power from us, but it’s even worse if you bow your head and let them.