We have all been raised to believe and take pride in the fact that America is unique and no other country in the world is as great as the one we live in. That is true, and I am proud to live in this great country of ours. This is a country where we not only have the freedom of speech but the freedom to protest, the freedom of religion, and the freedom to participate in elections (plus many more). That may seem routine to some of you, but I do not and will not ever take that for granted, and neither should you.
From the start of this country and every day since then, there are people putting their life on the line to give both you and me those rights. People who have and who would gladly give their life for this country of ours, so we can live every day without the fear of those rights being taken. That is not something we should take for granted, but something we need to embrace.
The United States of America is unique for many reasons, at the forefront of these reasons is our democracy. "Government by the people, for the people" is not a commonality in other countries, but built by our Founding Fathers for the USA. Yes, at times you may not agree with every decision our Senators, Governors, and President may make but that does not mean you should participate less in our elections. You should participate more.
People who reside in countries like Cuba and North Korea have no choice but to remain silent about their values and beliefs or death could be their punishment. Those people wish they could voice what they believed in but instead are forced to stay quiet. Way too many people take that right for granted every single day. Voting is your way of having a voice to elect the people you want, so they can change what needs to be changed and fix what can be fixed.
Those of you who say or will argue and say that your vote does not matter, that really just is not true. Every vote counts, whether at a local, state and even national level. The amount of young voters in this country is baffling, hardly anyone under the age of 24 participates in the elections. Roughly 40 percent of adults from 18-24 participated in the 2012 election, that number should be significantly higher. Elections dictate who can change healthcare, environmental issues, cost of tuition, taxes and so much more, so if you care to have someone who wants to change any of those issues or anything else, you NEED to register to vote and participate in this democracy we are so lucky to have.
