FREE ESSAY ON VOTER APATHY

VOTER APATHY

Voter Apathy
Imagine that you live in a country where a dictator or the state controls your every
move. You can't speak your mind out of fear of being imprisoned—worse yet, executed
for your political beliefs if they differ from those in power. Basically, you have no
rights as a citizen. You desperately want to make changes, but you can't—you have
no control. All control is in the hands of a tyrant or tyrannical state.
As Americans, we don't have to worry about being thrown in jail just because we disagree
with the president or other government officials. As Americans, we have basic freedoms
because we live in a democratic society. We have political freedom—the right to
vote as defined by our electoral process. Voting is inherent to the electoral process;
for it to work, we must vote. The main reason why people don't vote anyhow is just
because they know that the government does not care about one vote, but if many people
take a stand and vote, maybe the government will start to listen. If the government
listens, more of what matters to everyday citizens will get out to the public, and to the
nations capital, and something will be done to better the society we call America today.
As Americans, we must do something about voter apathy because not only does voting allow
us to be active in the political process, it enables us to fulfill our civic duty and
exert our political influence. Contrary to public opinion, every vote makes a difference
in this process. It may not seem like it, but if more people began to vote, they would
get noticed. 
To let our representatives know what we want, we must also exert our political influence
by being politically active. How can we do this? We can vote in state, local, and
national elections, lobby to persuade our representatives to vote a certain way, and
write letters to our representatives about policy issues. Of course, there are other ways
of being politically active; to me, these are the most effective. One thing needs to take
place, and that is change, pure and simple. 
I feel as though the government needs to allow teenagers to vote on how things affect
their lives. If the government lowers the voting age to 18 more important issues will
come out about high school violence, and other important issues. Some teenagers are
having terrible lives due to the government's actions. Some teens are suffering more than
others, but that is because teens have no voice in the way this country is run. It is
almost like the government is scared to see what it would be like if they let people that
were affected by the rules they lay down, vote. 
A good way to start getting votes out would be to have the majority rules method of
voting. If you could just see that your vote made a difference in the election of the
president of your nation, it would make you want to vote again. If the nation would
listen to the educated people of the country instead of listening to the media, then the
nation would be a whole lot better in terms of economics, welfare, war, our society in
general. In my opinion, we the people of this nation don't care about these campaigns
that are putting the other candidates down, we just want to hear the good things about
what they can do to better our nation. There isn't anything that Americans hate more than
liars and back stabbers. 
By getting the vote out, we voice our opinions on important issues. By participating in
the political process, we fulfill our civic duty. By exerting our political power, we
shape our government policies. The best way to get involved in our political process is
to vote, so get out there, get registered, and go vote in the next election!