THESEASON isuponus.
Yes, Iknow theholidays
areover; I’m talking
electionseason.We’veall
seenclipsof the“gotcha”
moments in thedebates,
buthowmuchattentionhavewepaid
beyond that?Mostofuscan’t imaginewhy
weshould focuson theelectiona fullyear
beforewecanevencastourballots,butwe
shouldn’t forget that theprimaryseason is
ourfirstchance toget toknowourcandi-
dates for theOvalOffice, federaloffice, the
state legislatureandbeyond.
While it’sbecomeeasy tochange the
channel, tuneoutandmoveon to thenext
thing inourhectic lives,weshouldbear in
mindthatnoteveryone intheworldhasthe
rightorprivilegeofbeingable toelect their
leaders.Whetherwe’revoting forpresi-
dent, senator, congressmanorcitycouncil,
ourdecisionsshape thecountrywe live in
andspeak toourprioritieswhen itcomes
toeducation,defense, civil rightsandother
issuesvital toour lives.Thechoice isyours,
andthereasonstovoteareplenty.
Thatsaid, voter turnout in2014was the
lowest ithasbeen insevendecades,with
less than37percentofeligiblecitizens
castingaballot. Ihavebeen intensely
involved in thepoliticalprocess formy
entireadult life,butIcanunderstand the
lackof faith inoursystem. I’veheard it
from friends, familyandstrangersalike:
Allpoliticiansare thesame.Theymake
promises theycan’tkeep.Myvotedoesn’t
matter.WhileIappreciate those feelings, I
alsobelieve thatgenuinechangecanonly
comeabout through fullparticipation,
wheneachandeveryoneofusengages in
thepoliticalprocess.
Asafirst-generationAmerican, Iam
AndJustice forAll
Makeyourvoicecountbyvoting forwhatmatters toyou
POLITICS
ByRaniaBatrice
AMERICANWAY
FEBRUARY2016
69
Weshouldbear inmind thatnoteveryone in theworldhas
the rightorprivilegeofbeingable toelect their leaders.
ILLUSTRATION
PEPMONTSERRAT
