Exercise the power you have
By: Ryan Scott
With the elections coming up soon, there is the usual amount of pressure, especially on young people, to get out and vote.
We hear about how it is our right and our duty to exercise that power and to have our voices be heard.
We are told that even though we are one person, we can effect change.
I can see that people around my age may find that a little less inspiring than generations prior.
Many young people seem to be even more self-absorbed than generations prior, which is likely a result of constantly being able to distract ourselves and not having to care.
Bearing that in mind, it’s tough to get young people out to vote.
The thing is, even though I vote and do condone exercising that right, I get it.
It may seem exceedingly pointless to vote with the current state of government.
It feels as though our political leaders are failing us in every way.
We constantly hear about the Democrats and Republicans at odds with one another, failing to accomplish even simple and seemingly no-brainer legislation over things that truly have nothing to do with the issues at hand.
It’s not to say that this hasn’t always been the case to some degree, but maybe it’s just more transparent now.
No matter what the case, it is very disheartening.
So, let us assume one decides to take the “I’m not going to vote because it’s pointless” stance.
The problem with this is that it often results in them doing nothing instead.
That is unacceptable.
Though it may not be a sexy and empowering stance, it makes sense and one can entertain that perspective these days.
The problem is, doing nothing changes nothing. It’s that simple.
We, as individuals, do have power we can exercise to help effect change and should do so.
We can exercise discipline in the choices we make as consumers, do good for others, apply ourselves to our beliefs and not just talk about them.
In generations past, we didn’t have the power or the platforms to exercise our voice that we do now. We have unlimited access and opportunity to effect change.
There is literally no excuse to do nothing.
If you aren’t going to make any effort to change things, then in my opinion you don’t have a right to complain about it.
It all comes down to the quote “be the change you want to see in the world.”
Fine, don’t vote, but certainly don’t do nothing.
