LET’S TALK VOTING

Allow me to be very candid for a few minutes here: The United States’ citizens have gone ape-shit political.

You can witness it everywhere. Whether it’s work, a family party, or a visit to Hooters, people are arguing over who should be president. Unfortunately, it’s all more bark than bite on election day.

It’s actually a little funny to me because for years I’ve been very outspoken on Facebook and elsewhere in my life while the general public just didn’t want to hear it. They said, “Facebook is for puppies and babies, not your stupid political bullshit.”

But nowadays, everyone’s a pundit.

So I voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. Despite having a huge opposition he still managed to pull off some major victories. Although, he didn’t do half of the shit I elected him to do, and I’m somehwhat disappointed in a few bills he’s trying to cram through as he ends his final year (TPP, CISPA… look it up), I just did what us citizens are supposed to do; I researched and I VOTED.

SPOILER ALERT: You will never get everything a politician promises you.

I don’t really know why I’ve always been so fascinated with all this boring political mumbo-jumbo. Since I was a teenager I guess I just thought it was important to know who I was pushing for and not to vote blindly. I don’t remember my family forcing any political party onto me so I had to figure out for myself what I stood for.

The point is that we live in a democracy. A place where we should actually be able to have our voices heard through our right to vote. Election day, the one day a year, where you have to walk or drive, not too far out of your way, to pick the person you trust for the next several years. People throughout our history have literally died for us to have this priveledge and we become apathetic when November 5th rolls around.

Check out these disappointing numbers from the Bipartisan Policy Center

“A cliff-hanger presidential election, major issues at stake, an estimated $6 billion spent in the 2012 campaigns and an eight million person increase in the eligible voters all failed to sustain the upward momentum for turnout from 2004 and 2008.

Voter turnout dipped from 62.3 percent of eligible citizens voting in 2008 to an estimated 57.5 in 2012. That figure was also below the 60.4 level of the 2004 election but higher than the 54.2 percent turnout in the 2000 election.”

*Also, see IDIOCRACY (streaming somewhere on Netflix)

Yeah, so we failed and it’s been getting even worse. How can you sit around and bitch about what’s wrong with this country when you don’t vote? If these numbers are right, then I’m talking to about half the people reading this right now.

Do you know who is voting though? Old people. They are swooping in and leaving us with their legacy. Maybe it will be a another Bush or Donald Trump if we’re lucky.

There’s also the primaries which are happening this year. So in 2016, you might have to walk or drive, TWICE, a little out of your way, to pick the person who everyone will bitch and complain about until Novemeber 5th, when finally one brave man or woman will hear our disapproval and become the blame victim for the next four years.

Look, people have spent ten hours in a weekend to binge-watch Making a Murderer, become really angry, go out and sign a petition to save an innocent man, BUT, when it comes to casting a vote, they just can’t make up their minds. People have also spent two days binging on Cake Boss, but we won’t even get into that.

So, what did we learn here today?

If you can Netflix and Chill, then you can Google some candidates, get your lazy ass up off the couch, and go vote once, or sometimes twice, in a year.