So Today I Voted…

I know you don’t need anyone else telling you to vote.

Every politician on the ballot, every celebrity you follow, every app you use, every company you frequent, and every news outlet you subscribe to has been bombarding you with reminders. Are your registered? Do you have a plan? Have you requested it? Where are you dropping it off? And so on and so forth.

They mean well, and it’s a good thing to do. Voting is important.

And yet we stand in the middle of complete chaos, opinions and fact muddled in the noise of our disagreement. Policies we don’t understand. Leaders we can’t figure out. Words that mean nothing, though we know they should.

Then on top of it all, we open Instagram to look at cute puppies and cringy videos, only to see a banner pasted across our screen with bright colors and big letters.

VOTE.

And all the confusion and frustration comes flooding back.

It feels at times that there is no escape, and you’re left not knowing what to think or believe anymore. It’s all biased. It’s all divisive. It’s all above your head.

And you might even wonder if your opinion ever mattered in the first place. What is one less voice in the cacophony of ideas? What is one less drop in the flood of information?

What is one missing vote in a country of millions, who seem to all be so much more informed and confident than you?

If this is you, don’t give up. Because on most days, this is me too.

When I opened my ballot and looked it up and down, I won’t deny the spike of panic that rushed through me. I can read Paradise Lost or The Silmarillion with little to no trouble, but the moment you throw legal jargon and percentages into the mix, my brain starts to swim. I recognized maybe three names on the whole sheet, and though the listing of a political affiliation after each name is supposed to clear things up, it only made me feel like a sheep following the crowd of majority opinion.

I do my best to be educated and informed. Watching news from both sides. Finding original sources. Doing research. Reading the Bible. Listening to people more educated than I. Asking others their opinion. But in that moment, it was all gone, and I was left with a sense of inadequacy and ignorance.

Wait, inadequacy?

Why should I feel inadequate, if what I was doing didn’t matter?

And in that moment, I finally realized why. Why it’s such a big deal, why so much time is spent talking about it, and why celebrities and apps alike are telling you to participate.

You are telling someone in charge what you think. With that pen and paper, you are looking someone with power in the eyes and saying “this is what I value,” or, “this is what I think you should change.” As a person who lives in this country and day by day sees the effects of policy on yourself and the people around you, you can tell the higher ups what is working and what is not. It’s a chance to even say that you’re not happy with the job they’ve done, and you’d like to have someone else.

You are forced to decide what you believe and tell someone about it. Someone who can change things.

But it all starts with you. Your unique experiences. Your convictions and beliefs. This is a chance for you to make it known and make significant steps towards change. To help create the country that you want to see.

It is freedom.

Will you always make the right choice? No.

Will everything you want to see come to pass? Also no.

Do people agree on what the right course is? No, and I don’t know that we ever will.

Is it easy? No. It’s messy and nuanced, and you may disagree with people you have a lot in common with.

But again, that is freedom.

I worked through the ballot bit by bit, with 50 tabs opened and my mom on speaker phone. I know it’s looked down on nowadays to get political advice from your parents, but let’s be real: they’ve done a lot more house-buying, business-owning, tax-paying, fact-discerning, policy-discussing, listening, voting, and LIVING than I have. I think I should put value into what they’re saying, especially when I don’t understand something.

Thankfully I don’t have parents that push me one way or another: they have a lean, but we both know that, so we’re able to talk things through thoroughly and thoughtfully. It’s a gift I know not everyone has, but I would recommend giving it a shot if you’re especially lost.

Google things, cross reference, wrestle with it, change your mind, pray, ask advice… do it all, and I think you’ll be satisfied with whatever conclusion you come too. I know I came out of the experience humbled and thankful.

So take advantage of your freedom, and let your thoughts become actions.

Go vote.

Irregular times get irregular content, but I’m still reading and writing! Look forward to a NaNo post coming soon, and check out my other work I’ve posted here! 😉

Until next time friends, Namárië!