Apathetic America?

America has problems. Let’s just get that out of our system right. Gas prices are too high; there’s too much traffic; it’s hot in the summer; people don’t know how to drive; Americans eat too much fast food; we don’t have enough Chick-fil-a’s; politicians are lazy; politicians spend too much energy spending money. Let’s admit it: the list of things we complain about in regards to our country goes on and on and on.  But I’ve noticed a new one recently (and maybe it’s not new, it’s just been brought to my attention) that disturbs me. The “our country is going downhill fast and since my vote doesn’t count, I’m not gonna vote or pay any attention to politics.”

Now, don’t take this too personally, but that’s one of the silliest things I’ve ever heard. That’s like saying “I think my freezer is on the fritz, but since I don’t know anything about how freezers work, I’m just gonna wait until all my food has gone bad to do anything about it.” I think most would acknowledge that that scenario is dumb, so why do they say the same thing about the state of our country?

Well first of all, there seems to be this rumor floating around that your vote doesn’t count because of this mysterious group of people called the Electoral College. This is a myth. Each state has a certain number of representatives in the Electoral College, kind of like how each state has a number of U.S. Representatives and Senators. A presidential candidate only receives the votes from a state’s Electoral College members if a candidate has received a majority of the popular votes in that state. For example, if a majority of Virginian’s vote for Romney this November, Romney will receive Virginia’s Electoral College votes. (I’m sorry if none of that was new to you). A candidate must have a majority of the Electoral College votes to win.

So you see, your vote actually does count. You are no longer allowed to make that excuse for not being involved.

Another rumor I’ve heard: one person can’t change anything when faced with the whole government. Well, that’s true if that person really does believe that. But just look at world-changers in history. John Adams, Thomas Paine, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., just to name a few. They each had a cause that they chose to stand by. They didn’t plan on being world-changers;  it just happened because they fought for what they believed in. Become informed, find a cause, and stand by it. Don't wait until election day rolls around and vote for the guy with the cooler sounding name.

Just because America has a few (well, a lot) of problems right now, doesn’t mean she isn’t worth saving. Yes, we are a katrillion dollars in debt. Yes, there are quite a few politicians who never should’ve been given office. But the only way to fix any of that is to pay attention and get involved.

The moment Americans become apathetic about politics is the moment we lose our country. If you wait for the freezer to break completely, it’s a lot harder to replace all the food and get a new freezer than to try and turn things around beforehand.  Let’s work on fixing things now before it’s too late.