The 2016 Presidential election is bearing down on us with just little under two months left for us to vote for our next Commander-in-Chief.

I won't be going into the positive and negatives of each candidate, but suffice it to say that the vast majority of people that see the final two contenders question whether democracy is still something that exists in America. Every single day, I log onto my social media platforms and am consistently bombarded with pictures on my news feed questioning how the American political system is broken and how we've gotten here.

You led us here. No, I don't mean you specifically (although if you voted for either of these candidates in the primaries, then yes, you), but the American people as a whole. In the beginning of these elections, there were 16 Republican candidates with multiple varying platforms and different directions for the Republican party, yet somehow you permitted the media to enforce this idea of Donald Trump's imminent rise and were swept away in the fervor of something new and exciting. Except now, that "exciting" aspect has taken on a more racist, sexist, misogynistic, politically-uninformed tone and you're here wishing that you could take another hard look and pick one of the 15 other candidates that is now gone. But let's not dwell on that too much, right?

Then glancing over at the Democratic party we had two strong candidates, but Senator Bernie Sanders was shot down on the onset by not only his own party (to which he had no strong previous ties with) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who was mired in scandal and lies. While close in poll numbers in a great many states, Clinton ultimately clinched the super-delegates and the majority of delegates necessary to offset her opponent. But I'm not here to talk about poll numbers, super-delegates, or even state by state comparisons of how the candidates fared.

I'd like to talk about where we are now, and the reality of the situation. Which is, if you haven't voted or refuse to vote, then you have no platform upon which to criticize this election. But more importantly, to those who have voted for candidates who may no longer be in the race, do not be so discouraged now. The citizens United States (and various Super-PACs) have decided, and these are the candidates that we need to take a hard, long look at as they'll be steering this country for the next four years. I don't say eight quite yet because I'm not quite sure this country could stomach the thought of re-electing two of the most historically unfavorable presidential candidates.

But stomach it you must, unfortunately.

Because unfortunately for you, the average citizen of the United States, you will not be able to simply pack your bags and move to Canada should your candidate not be elected. Do not flee from the problem that was yours to decide and fix, because that is exactly what is breaking it. The democratic institution set in place by our founding fore-fathers gave us not only the right to vote, to select which candidates we would place in political office, and our soldiers have gone to war for decades to live and die by these notions.

So don't you dare throw your vote away, because if you do the issues that we see today are in large part caused by your "inability" to go out and decide the future of our nation. The right to vote is not something that is given in Syria where five years of Civil War have occurred because the people decided to revolt against their government. It is not seen in Russia where Russian President Vladimir Putin has politically repressed all opposition parties and controls the media, nor in China where economic freedom over political freedom has been the guiding ideology of their Communist Party.

The right to vote is not inherently American, but it also is when you look at the history of preserving the notions of democracy that are not always seen in other countries. Deciding not to vote creates a vicious cycle where the lack of continuously deciding the future of this great nation belongs to the hands of a few, and by not casting a ballot you've turned your back on the very system that will decide the nation's course. If you have voted or will continue to vote, great, that means that you realize that you are not going to beat the pre-ordained political institution that is but rather you could have a hand in guiding it.

Democracy is not dead, but assuming it is and not doing anything to change it within the parameters that exist will certainly kill it little by little. No one enters office solely through money, each vote matters to creating the basis for those candidates and you ignoring that benefits no one but those you don't want to see in office.

The fact that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are our presidential candidates does not speak to the failure of the democratic system, but rather of its abandonment. Voter turnout, political participation, and awareness of what is happening in your own country are critical to understanding why we are in this current predicament.

So please, when November rolls around, and the dawning of the next stage for our country looms over us. Vote. Vote and preserve the notions of democracy and the simple right to vote that countless generations have bled and fought over for before.

Vote, and decide the future of our country instead of stupidly ignoring it.