The editorial board originally planned to use this column to endorse our presidential candidate, as all newspapers are wont to do. This column would have been filled with lavish praises for Candidate X and stinging criticisms of Candidate Y. It would have been informative, snarky, and very persuasive.
But you know what? The opinion of thirteen peers, while interesting, will never supersede the more pressing issue that must be addressed: voting for the sake of voting.
So vote. Vote early, vote at the last possible second, vote for everything on the ballot, or just vote for the president. Vote for Candidate Y, we don’t care. It’s better than staying at home and being a passive citizen.
If you’ve voted or plan on voting, you can either stop reading and go check out the rest of this amazing paper or you can keep going and hopefully find affirmation. If you haven’t voted and do not plan to, we have some words for you. We want to take the time to address several reasons that people give for not voting, and for the sake of space this will just touch on the presidency:
“I don’t agree with either candidate. We’re screwed either way.”
Wait, your opinion doesn’t match up 100 percent with a politician? Stop the press … or just pick the one that offends you the least. If you don’t vote for what you believe in, others will (and you might not like it). Next question.
“What’s the point? It’s all theatrics.”
Campaigning is theatrics. Kissing babies, visiting soup kitchens, making sure to pin the American flag lapel on every suit you wear … that’s theatrics. But the second Election Day comes and goes, the winner transforms from a candidate to the leader of the free world. Tough decisions will no longer revolve around which heartbreaking middle-class American story to tell to an audience, or how to spin a gaffe to raise the poll numbers. They will revolve around and determine the safety, power, and success of our country. Their days won’t be spent jetting around the country trying to win over undecided voters. They will be spent greeting military coffins, staying up late assessing threats both home and abroad, signing orders that directly affect the American people, and overseeing ___. Right now, it’s easy for us to ignore the candidate we disagree with. You can just mute the television. But what happens if they’re the one in the Oval Office? You can’t plug your ears and shake your head if you disagree with a law or a war.
“I will live my life and make my choices regardless of who wins.”
Good luck with that. Women, especially. It is easy to assume that no matter which candidate wins, you’ll still have the freedoms and abilities to do whatever you choose. That, however, is simply not the case.
“Our government is broken. I’m protesting the election in the hopes that it will be a wake-up call to our officials.”
A democracy only works if we’re all active participants. It’s broken because of people like you. Don’t complain about the state of our government if you’re not willing to vote. If you cannot take a few hours out of your life to mark a name on a ballot, you have no grounds to argue this. It isn’t a protest to stay home from voting. It’s an excuse. And if you think the candidates will see how many people stayed home and will magically decide to call off all elections until all issues can be worked out, you’re delusional. The only wake up call will be your own when you realize just how wrong you were to throw up your hands and expect everything to work itself out.
“I haven’t registered and/or I have no way of getting to the polls.”
We promise this is not a shameless plug for our website, but all of the registration information can be found online at www.guilfordian.com/category/election12. You can register and vote on-site now through 5 p.m. Saturday. We’ll drive you. Friends can drive you. We wouldn’t be surprised if you stood in front of Founders with a sign around your neck asking for a ride to the polls and a complete stranger agreed to it. That’s Guilford for you.
It is 2012. There are still countless regions of our world with citizens who do not have the rights that we have, the luxuries we have, or the ability to make a difference in the way that we can. There are individuals who would fight –and lay down their lives– for the right to vote. So no, we don’t see any reason that you should refrain from voting this year. What are you waiting for? Go vote!
