Antonio Jackson
Variety Editor
“Talk is cheap, voting is free; take it to the polls.”
That is a quote by Nanette L. Avery, novelist and short story writer, best known for her historical fiction, “Orphan in America”.
I personally agree. Voting is something that is accessible to all of us but for whatever reason, not enough of us are exercising our right to do so.
Voting is a very important right as a United States citizen because it is the tool that grants us the power to shift this country in any direction that we see fit.
“The most important office, and the one which all of us can and should fill, is that of private citizen.” A quote by Louis Brandeis.
For a long time, I’ve personally thought that voting was pointless. I would tell myself that no matter who I vote for, two scenarios would play out. It was either who ever I didn’t vote for would win, making my vote useless. Or the person I voted for wouldn’t fulfill things I expected from them, meaning that my vote was wasted.
However, in recent times, I’ve realized that not voting at all is where the pointlessness lies.
It is crucially important, especially as an African-American, to use my right to vote because of the people who fought for this right. Countless African-Americans sacrificed their lives so that we could go from picking cotton to picking presidents, so it would be an insult to not vote when my people’s blood was spilled for it.
African-Americans don’t have much of a voice as it is, so it is critical that we go out to the polls and vote. We can’t make change that is for the betterment of our future if we do use every tool that’s available to us.
“Our political leaders will know our priorities only if we tell them, again and again, and those priorities begin to show up in the poll.” A quote by Peggy Noonan.
Another reason I believe it’s important to vote is because I feel we’ve underestimated the power that voting has.
We, as the people, get to decide what direction we want our country to go in by voting. If a candidate does not meet our standards, we don’t vote for them and vice versa. That type of power should not be taken lightly.
“People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.” A quote by Alan Moore.
Another way I like to look at voting and I think we should all see it that way is by using it as leverage over our political leaders
One thing I’ve noticed about our political leaders is that they do not want to lose their position to anyone that isn’t them.
It is very possible that it can take one mistake for all of us to use our right to vote to remove someone from power. However, not enough of us realize that we have that much influence at our fingertips.
Imagine a world where we can simply say, “If you don’t make this happen, you will be removed from the next election.” Our political leaders would scramble to fulfill our needs just for the sake of not losing their spot.
Time and time again I’ve seen people complain about what goes on but sit on the sidelines and do nothing.
We as African-American U.S. citizens have the power and the responsibility to make the decisions necessary in order for us to thrive in a society that sees us as the lesser. Voting is one of many but ultimately the most valuable tool we have.
