The article I elected to write for this week’s paper was supposed to discuss whether out of state DU students should exercise their voting rights in their home-states, or in Colorado.
I spent hours weighing the pros and cons of each option: “Colorado initiatives affect us more, and yet most of us are still dependent on our parents, and our parents live at home…” The list goes on.
We know more about our home states because we’ve lived there longer, but we need to take the time to learn more about Colorado as well.
Eventually I came to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter where you vote. It just matters that you vote somewhere, and that you take it seriously.
I once overheard a student say that when it comes down to it, they just vote for the candidate with the cooler name. I can’t tell you how much this made me cringe. There is a reason we are not allowed to vote until the age of 18.
Generally this is the age that we become mature enough to understand the issues that we are voting for. It’s not the age that we develop the ability to determine what is best for our country based on trivial things like names.
The right to vote is not one to be taken lightly. Americans have been fighting for it right back to the 18th century when we fought for representation in the British Parliament. African Americans, women and Native Americans later spent decades fighting so that their voices could be heard in their own government. For most DU students, the right is handed to us on a silver platter the day we turn 18. As the youngest group of voters, we have a responsibility to show the government what matters to us.
The decisions being made right now will affect us the most out of anyone in the future. Take, for example, the issue of social security.
Sure, for most of us college students it’s not on the top of our list of concerns, but if we don’t speak up now we could end up spending our lives paying taxes that we will never benefit from. And this is only one example.
Some of us forget that our generation will be running the country in the decades to come. Right now, we are given the opportunity to affect what that country will be like when we take on its reigns. Why not speak up now? It’ll only help us in the future.
So many of us complain about the government as it is. We disagree about the way it should be run, what it does and who should represent us in the system. But here on this silver plate is our chance to make a difference.
Of course we can’t get everything exactly how we would like it, but who are we to complain if we don’t exercise our right to vote? It’s the easiest way into the system, and yet so many of us take it for granted.
Many students like the idea of being able to vote because it’s a coming-of-age privilege, like getting your driver’s license or being allowed to drink alcohol. This privilege however, is not as easy as going to the store and buying your first lotto ticket.
If we want to take it seriously we need to take the time to understand what we are voting for. What is the candidate’s position? How will this initiative affect the state of Colorado? It’s not about who has the coolest name or the funniest tie.
If you care enough about making your voice heard (and I think that you should), take the time to do it right.
Even someone with the best intentions can cause a mess in the voting system if they do not educate themselves.
We need to show our government that we whole-heartedly care enough to do our part in making our voices heard.
