By Julia Hahn, Columnist
"My vote doesn't really matter" "I don't really like any of the candidates" "Eh, I just don't feel like voting." All these phrases are heard from young adults these days and are given as excuses as to why they don't vote. To me, all of them seem to be somewhat empty excuses in our day and age.
Teenagers and young adults today constantly complain about not being given enough freedom, responsibility, or in simple terms "important things to do." Voting about the fate of your country is one of the biggest responsibilities a person can have, so then why do teens not take advantage of it? Once again, they turn back to the lame excuses.
If teens want responsibility then why don't they go get it? Registering to vote is not a difficult process and it is not very time consuming. Even if a person does not feel as though their vote is very important they should still attempt to be a part of the process of democracy.
Pertaining to the Electoral College process of getting people into a high office in Washington, it may seem that a person's single vote may not matter. A single vote may not be very influential, but if an entire group of teens that usually don't vote convince each other to cast a ballot, who knows what results can come of it? Creating a Facebook attempting to get teens to vote would be so positive. A negative attitude is a dangerous sickness to wear on your sleeve.
In the realm of politics how many men and women involved are actually that likeable? With the strategy of dirty politics going around and politicians making unpopular decisions politicians have gotten a very bad reputation as of late. I believe this is all the more reason to try and get out there and vote. People never seem to realize how many candidates there are for each political race. As long as they do their research well enough they are bound to find someone who they find suitable. If a person finds that none of the candidates are "evil," then it is their responsibility to try and put the least "evil" person into office. It is important for someone to care about who is running his or her city, state, or country.
The process of voting may be one of the easiest things to do. In fact, it's a lot easier than getting your license or permit and plenty of teens are willing to do that. I understand that casting your first vote may not seem to have the excitement or as many benefits as driving your first car but why not? Democracy is a beautiful quality that America has fought and died to get. The right to vote is something that multitudes of people throughout history have fought for. It doesn't seem right to just cast it aside.