But everyone in America benefits from government. If you walked on a sidewalk or drove on a road today you benefited from circulation infrastructure built by your city, state or nation to provide you with safer transportation.
So not voting is unfair to your fellow citizens who pay for these joint benefits through their vote, which governs them and you. Your vote elects representatives who legislate and decide who pays taxes for what collective services we all use in our communities.
Voting is the one small power we are given in a democracy.
To not cast your vote is to say I don’t believe in democracy.
To refuse to vote is saying I’ll let someone else decide.
To protest by declining to vote is one way of staging a silent protest against the powers that be and the system that governs you. But if you’re pulled over by a police officer on the same day you don’t vote you still have to submit to their power. You still have to obey the laws made by the elected which require your compliance with the officer who has authority over you. So why not vote?
My parents always instilled in me the value of my vote.
To them it was a duty.
It was non-negotiable. Like wearing our seatbelts. Or applying to college.
So I vote. Because I value my
Vote. And I value yours.