Dear Voter,
If you happen to live in a country bestowed with democratic freedoms — congratulations! Your government is required to at least display some semblance of caring about what you actually think.
The fate of the nation is in your hands, so cast your ballot wisely. Now may I also offer some simple, unsolicited advice of what to do/not to do before you vote?
- Please do NOT come to the following conclusions before you step up to the voting booth:
“Oh, what the heck.”
“It’s not like my vote will matter.”
“Well, things can’t possibly get any worse than it is now.” (It almost always can)
“I’m kinda curious to watch the world burn.”
Acceptable conclusions include:
“This vote will be best for my country in the long run.”
“This will help my bottom line.”
“Yes, they all suck, but this is the least worst option.”
“Hmm, maybe the experts actually have a point here.”
2. Do your research.
It doesn’t need to take up a lot of your time. Read the newspaper. Listen to the debates. Issues are often more complex than they appear, and campaigns seize upon the ignorance of voters in order to sway them with simplistic talking points and emotional appeals. Question what you are told. Are they really giving you the full picture or telling half-truths?
And definitely do NOT Google questions like “What’s the EU?” after your compatriots just voted to leave the EU. You had three years to figure that out.
3. But foremost, actually vote.
Yes, your vote will not swing the election, but there are consequences when enough people decide their time is too precious to be spent supporting their democratic system. In the end, while it is the young who will mostly contend with fallout from Brexit, they were also the least likely to vote. Older voters had made the choice for them.
Do not assume that the people who do show up to vote will make reasonable, well thought-out decisions on your behalf. They often won’t, and that may lead to — I don’t know — losing $2 trillion in global financial markets and emboldening a certain geopolitical adversary?
Many voters may not recall the days when those who came before them fought — and died — to guarantee their right to vote. It is, after all, with memories of repression fresh in their mind that voters in South Africa and Burma once stood in long lines to pick their leaders. We owe it to those who sacrificed for our rights, and to the future of our country, to keep our government accountable.
With love,
Newsgirl