Voting & Stuff

Now here's something that really gets my goat.

(Wait, is that even the right saying?)

Every time Election Day rolls around, there are always those select few who announce that they're not voting. This annoys me on so many levels and I'll explain why.

Let's throw it back to the year 1776. The American Colonies were amidst one of the biggest bloodsheds in American history. I mean, seriously. It was pretty cray. People were dying left and right. Kids lost their fathers. Women lost their husbands. Parents lost their sons. And we all know just how fabulous 18th century medical care was. It wasn't just a musket wound that killed those men, no sir-ree! Many died an agonizing death from something as preventable as an infection. (Damn, what a bottle of Purell could've done back then...)

#tbt to the 18th century // credit

And WHY would they go through all of that?

Oh yeah. Because they wanted to give their descendants the freaking right to freaking vote. British government was kind of a control freak (probs just Type A personalities to the max). But we were having none of that. nope nope nope.

So despite all of that, we won. Pretty big deal.

'merica // credit

But, wait! That wasn't the end of it. Nope. No, it wasn't. For like the next 200 years or so, the country was run by rich old white men.

(Oh, lol, wait, it basically still is...)

The ladies were like, "Naw, man. We ain't havin' none of that." And they refused to give up their battle.

But dayum. Ladies like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton went through hell and back just to give women the same right to vote. They were jailed. They were tortured. They were starved. They were beaten. But some serious kudos to them, because here we are in 2014 and we are allowed to vote. So yeah, that's pretty cool and all.

Shoutout to my homegirl: LIZZY S-TON // credit

And through all of that, you're still too busy to vote? (Uh, hello, that's what mail-in ballots are for.) People on this planet, in 2014 (!!!!) no less, still don't have that right. *cough* China, North Korea, Russia *cough* Don't take your right for granted. 

In my area, there's a congressional race that will be decided from only a hand full of votes. Last time I checked, only nine (NINE!!!) votes separated them. Oh yeah, and don't forget the freaking presidential election of 2000 where the freaking president was decided by less than 2,000 votes. (Even though technically, Gore won by popular vote, but Bush won by electoral vote. America is weird, kids.) 2,000 people who decided not to vote for whatever reason. 

I'm really not a patriotic person. It just kills me that these people worked so hard for something so important but so many people just take it for granted. This country is a democracy, and it doesn't work unless you go out there and make yourself heard. 

Well, there you go. Stepping off my soapbox...

Your voice matters. Don't forget it.