Democracy is a greatly contested subject, specifically questioning if what we currently have in America is truly democracy. Now I want you to cast that discussion aside. What America has is a form of representative democracy in which citizen’s vote on people to represent their ideals and their interests on the political stage. The current state of affairs can sometimes cast doubt on the authenticity of that system, but I would also like to cast that aside for right now. I know I am asking for you to make some major assumptions, but right now, I want to focus on you…or me…or, in the large scheme of things, us. Before we look to what democracy demands of our elected officials and how well they are fulfilling those demands, let’s focus in on what democracy demands of us, trust me it’s a lot better of a conversation and will hopefully be less stressful.

I am going to assume that all who are reading this are complete people, with their own thoughts, opinions and cares because this conversation is fairly dependent on that. Know what you want, know what you don’t want and know why. Now hold onto them with a loose grip. Take them to your figurative, or even literal, neighbor, compare and take notes. Share your reasoning, truly listen to their reasoning, and at the end of the day, be a big enough person to truly consider if their views and reasoning are better than yours and maybe shift your own around.

I am inexperienced in the realm of politics. I hold onto my opinions very loosely, and depend on those wiser and more experienced than I am, specifically my dad, to inform the way that I think about such things. When talking about the demands of democracy my dad spoke of what our democracy is missing on the individual front, being the lack of accountability. Being held responsible not only for the decisions we make, but for the reasons that we make them, and it is true.

Come election time, many will be voting for the lesser of two evils, yet something about that seems off to me. When I look at what’s in my hand, I don’t want to make decisions based on what I left on the floor. I don’t think it’s beneficial to democracy to make decisions based on what we threw in the trash bin, saying, “Well they may not have what I want, but at least they don’t have that.” In my loosely held opinion that is not what democracy demands of us.

Again we’re not talking about if our voices really matter, or the weight they have in national decisions, we are talking about what we are saying and what it reflects. It all comes down to responsibility. We have a responsibility to vote based on what we believe would benefit us, not what would harm us the least. I understand, with this election in particular, there doesn’t seem to be a choice that fulfills this demand, but there is more than the two options. Though many argue that a third-party vote is the same as not voting, democracy demands that we vote for the person that most closely represents us and what we think is important, and if that person is a third-party candidate, then you have a responsibility to vote for them.

When it comes down to it don’t let anyone shame you into voting for the better of two evils. Again, you are a complete human, so vote like one.