Your Vote Matters
America is at a crossroads. In the face of acute threats to our democracy and future, the choices we make today will be critical. We can not let disillusionment with the political process or disdain for both candidates allow us to become civically disengaged. When there is so much at stake, not voting is, in effect, not an act of protest, but an act of abdication, compliance, and consent.
We are headed down a perilous path. Our top elected officials have ceased to represent the people, instead choosing to spread lies, sow fear and division, and slowly but deliberately chip away at our democratic institutions to hold onto power. Economic elites and interest groups have become so deeply entrenched in the legislative process that they are undermining democracy and enriching themselves at the remarkable expense of the people and planet. Racism and intolerance continue to poison institutions and minds, impeding progress at great systemic and individual psychological, economic, and physical cost to millions of Americans. Voter suppression efforts and actions are shamefully rampant as our leaders have all but abandoned the words and spirit of the Constitution. Millions are struggling to survive as the cost of living continues to grow disproportionately higher than wages, while people are dying or going bankrupt due to the highly inflated costs of health care. Our children are being massacred at school, while gun violence devastates and terrorizes our communities. Police brutality and an oppressive criminal justice system are ravaging and destroying countless black and brown lives. Our Earth is on the path to becoming uninhabitable by the end of the century, yet no meaningful action is being taken. Dangerous conspiracy theories have swept the nation, further eroding truth and fueling extremism.
Good leaders rise to challenges and bear the problems they are faced with with integrity and courage. But ignorance, hatred, greed, apathy, and tribal self-certitude have resulted in a dangerous trend of inaction and dysfunction on Capitol Hill. The courage, commitment, foresight, and sense of higher purpose needed to solve this country’s problems are all but absent in far too many leaders. Rather than work towards solving our country’s biggest challenges, these representatives seem to have instead become their biggest enablers.
This is unsustainable. America cannot cannot survive and prosper when its representatives have no respect for its peoples’ dignity or are unwilling to acknowledge basic truths and uphold their duties. We cannot afford for our leaders to continue to be indifferent to, or contemptuous of, the suffering of their constituents and the constitutional rights of their people, to spew out lies and hatred for their own personal gain, or to sell out to private interests whose agendas enrich themselves at the expense of millions.
As we are faced with the challenge of sustaining momentum and enacting real change, we need honest and courageous leaders with a commitment to progress, not the opposite. As voters, we hold the power to change the course of history — which is exactly why certain politicians feel threatened and are trying to restrict access to the ballot box. Resigning to fatalism and choosing not to vote means letting them win. A broken system and unequal playing field didn’t stop our forebears from fighting on at all fronts and we must do everything we can not to let it stop us.
For all the flaws and evils it is capable of, the United States remains equally capable of good. Our history has shown us that we have the potential for immense destruction, and also for progression and compassion. We can either continue on the path we’re on now and watch our country self-destruct at immense cost to millions, or we can elect leaders who will fight for a future for all and who will bring out the best, not the darkest, parts of ourselves. This moment can be a turning point, but only if we keep the fight alive at the critical battleground of the ballot box.
