little girl BIG VOICE

ARTIST: BEN SARGENT

Last week I realized I could really work the system (at least in theory).

When I moved to North Carolina, I changed over my permanant address and registered to vote in the Tar Heel State. I assumed that when I turned in my Oregon driver’s license, my registration would be transferred.

I was wrong.

Much to my surprise (O.K., O.K. it’s American buracracy, so it isn’t THAT big of a stretch), I still received an Oregon ballot. But I’m also registered in North Carolina. So really, I could vote twice for Obama!

If I didn’t have a good sense of right and wrong, I’d do just that. But alas. This is the girl who, at five years old, threw away a pack of gum she accidentally stole from the store. My conscious is fully aware and stringent about the fact that my right to vote (inalienable since 1919) only goes so far. One can’t be greedy in using their voice, however tempting it may be.

But let’s talk about that Oh-So-American right for just a second–because I know there are some of you out there who are planning on not using your voice next Tuesday. I think you’re making a huge mistake. Not just because this is one of the most important election cycles we’ve seen in decades, but because refusing your right to vote is downright disrespectful (barring extreme cases, such as prominent journalists who do not vote in an effort to be as non-partisan and objective as possible).

“Come on little girl, stop being dramatic! It’s not that big of a deal.”

Wrong. If you don’t hate me enough to have already closed your browser window, hear me out. I know it can be a pain in the ass to take time out of your day and stand in voting lines. I know that you might dislike pieces of our governmental system and see refraining from voting as a form of protest against it. But think about it this way. Voting is how we tell our leadership what they need to hear and this isn’t just about voting for President. You’ll be voting for local and state representatives plus a load of measures that determine how your tax dollars are spent. Voting, while we call it a right, is really a privilege. Lest we forget, millions of men, women and children have died trying to win the guarantee of voting freely. And hopefully we remember the millions more who still live in our world without this sacred privilege.

Don’t believe me?

Watch this disturbing video about pre-election violence in Zimbabwe just last June.

Have a look at this photo essay documenting the police violence against Egyptian voters in 2005.

Still not convinced that the ability to vote should be guarded with your life and used every damn chance you get?

Let’s remember Iraq (like we could forget?). The reason (supposedly…and I’ll give our leaders the benefit of the doubt here, for the sake of making my point) we are in Iraq is because we saw the dire need for its people to be free of tyrrany and free to choose how their nation is run. If we are making sacrifices (in the form of our money, our military might and the lives of our honorable servicemen and women) in order to give the Iraqi people that right, why would we deny it to ourselves?

Take North Korea. Its people suffer in silence, in many cases starved and in all cases oppressed. Imagine what a North Korean would give in order to cast a vote and tell Kim Jong Il that he sucks?! How can we, in good conscious, shun our ability to cast ours freely and anonymously (or not), without pressure from the ruling regime (as in China or Egypt) or the threat of losing our jobs (or our heads) if we vote against the current dictator-in-president’s clothing (i.e Mr.Mugabe of Zimbabwe)?

We are so freakin’ lucky here. If you haven’t noticed, nations that do not give their people the right to choose their government are generally horrible places to be a human being. Things usually go very badly for anybody not in the upper echelon. If we think paying $4.50 for a gallon of gas is suffering, what about being forced to work as an indentured servant to the government for your ENTIRE LIFE?

Our system, while far (so incredibly far) from perfect, is still envied because every single man and woman (barring some citizens with felony records) can have their say in what is best for our nation. And they won’t be beaten, raped, gased or killed for doing it. They won’t have their house burned or lose their job or get thrown in prison on erroneous charges. We might not like the results of an election, but at least we can rest assured that we did something about it.

If you stuck with me (and aren’t writing me hate mail at this moment), please (!!!) do me a favor. Take an hour of your day on Tuesday and do your patriotic duty. Do it for yourself, for your family and nation–and do it in honor of all those who have died trying to gain access to an act so many of us take for granted. Voting is a sacred act, voting is amazing privilege and we need each and every American to take part in it. Otherwise the ideals of Democracy that we strive to uphold (albeit not always successfully) will go right down the drain.

Course, long story short. It’s up to you whether or not to use your voice–this is America after all. But your vote does actually count–so use it or lose it. Movements are made of individuals. Without you, your movement can fail.

And yes, that is a really big deal.