Voters Rights

So, Friday night I went out with my friend Heather and her husband and some of their friends. By the time I got there they had already had several drinks (I believe they were drinking Long Islands prior to my arrival). Anyway, midway into the evening, Heather's husband Nick, starts talking politics.

Now, as any sane and sober person, I tried to keep my mouth shut. Honestly, I did! However, Nick is so conservative that he is too conservative to consider himself a republican -- he thinks republicans are becoming incredibly liberal. Because of this, he didn't vote in the last election. He liked neither candidate so he did not vote.

Now, if you are not familiar with my politics I will tell you that I'm extremely liberal. In fact, I'm so liberal I'm almost a socialist. Sue me, I think it's the government's job to make the people do what is best for the greater good, not the individual. We don't do this on our own -- we are out for number 1... (which explains the current financial situation) anyway I won't go into it. So during our discussion it came up that Nick didn't vote in our last election because he didn't like Obama, but also hated McCain so he refused to vote. From their interaction, I could tell this was a sore point between Heather and Nick. Heather, of course, subscribing to the idea that if you don't vote in the election then you have no right to bitch about who is in power or what kind of job they are doing.

That is something you hear a lot around election time. If you don't vote you can't bitch. And I imagine, if you know me at all, you'd probably assume that I'd agree with that. You would be wrong, however.

One of the most beautiful things about this country IS our right to bitch about what our government is doing - regardless if we voted or not. This country was founded on the principle that the people should have a voice and should be able to express their opinions about what the government is doing without the fear of retribution or accusations of treason. Other countries (Iran for example?) do not have this fundamental right. So we need to make double sure we value this right. So, my opinion? Bitch away, Nick. If you didn't like any of the candidates then it is 100% your right to bitch about the government, however do more than that.. volunteer for a movement or write a letter to your senator about changing the two party system and campaign funding. The system is failing you so do something about it! Maybe you'll love/hate what's going on so much that you'll vote next time.

I truely believe that everyone should exercise their right to vote, to do otherwise is lazy. Unfortunatley, sometimes it comes down to choosing the lesser of two evils, but that's the way politics work sometimes. You have a voice -- USE IT!