Vote or Die

It has been a long while since everyone first began to consider the "electability" of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Now, what feels like years later (and very well may be) it is the "electability" of Rudy Giuliani that is questioned, with the rise of Mitt Romney and John McCain serving to further illustrate the split within the Republicans. Meanwhile, Barack and Hillary bicker constantly about, well, who really knows exactly?

And yet, despite all of this drama and excitement, it's amazing how many people, both young and old, don't care anymore. Perhaps these people just never cared in the first place.

At the diner I wait tables at during my winter and summer breaks, I occasionally attempt to discuss politics with my higher-ups as a way to pass the time. The questions I pose are usually to my managers and my owner, all over the age of 35.

"Tony, what do you think of the 2008 election? Who do you like?" I ask my morning shift manager.

"I don't f***ing care. They're all crooks man," he replies, with a passionate fire in his voice that suggests years of disappointment. Maybe he has a reason for his jaded remarks.

"Well Tony, you vote?"

"Hell no!"

The same question is posed to my night manager Julio and my owner, who both respond, as if discussing their answers with each other beforehand:

"Honestly, I don't like any of 'em."

Fast-forward to Buffalo, walking down the halls with a couple of friends. We're talking about absentee ballots and how to do it. One of my friends scoffs and groans.

"I'm not going to do the absentee ballot. It's just too much of a hassle. Just another thing you have to do, you know?"

He continues on about how he doesn't know enough about the candidates to vote anyway. Several other friends, in these first days, have said something along those lines. Not enough time, don't know enough, don't care, I hate politics, it's always bad news...and the band plays on.

What's happening here? I almost excuse my employers, observing the wrinkles on their foreheads and the constant stress on their faces, forcing myself to assume that they've been through enough with politics to now justifiably hate them. But, even with them, I'm skeptical.

Why are we choosing not to care about our FREE elections? Granted, the recent primaries and caucuses have suggested a considerable boost in population voting, thanks in part to the idealistic Democratic candidates speaking on change and the need for something new (in the Iowa Caucus, the amount of Democrats who came out to vote were nearly twice as much as the Republicans).

This is, in every way, an election of change. We have a Mormon, a black man, and a woman within the top candidates right now.

If I hear one more person crack a joke about the elections and their pointlessness, I'm going to throw up on their UB hoodie with malicious intent. This is America; when we have a problem, it is our job, the people's job, to fix it by directing our representatives on how to do so.

In recent years, the Bush administration took it upon itself to make many decisions, specifically concerning Iraq, without the aid of analysts or experts. Making the most out of arguably unconstitutional rights given to them by the people, these politicians made decisions they were not qualified to make. (Don't believe me? Watch No End In Sight).

These decisions turned into mistakes and now, thanks to the response of the people, these mistakes are being corrected as best they can, slowly but surely. And even still, people, both young and old, continue to assume that no one is listening, no one cares, and that politicians are crooks.

Well, I'll tell you a secret: they've always been crooks. Lobbyists have been around for over a century, only they were called masons back in the late 1800s. There are always people trying to work against the current, understanding the benefits, and, many times, garnering a profit.

This is the backlash of capitalism, an ideal our country was born on, thrives on, and suffers because of. However, it is ignorant and lazy, to complain about the down points of this and not strive to correct them.

It is our job to elect these people standing up and debating with each other about the topics we've decided were important, as a society. This whole thing is our decision. Feel free to make a decision, and then complain about the country. But don't be so hypocritical to not vote and then act like you were always right not to care.