Voting in America

Why is it important that we, as Americans, vote? It seems like such a simple question but it has so many complex answers. We can find the answers to the question by investigating our past, present, and future. First, we examine our history and the struggle faced by African Americans and women who sacrificed and endured in order to win the right vote and we vote to honor them. Next, we study our present and the current condition of our military. It is with our votes that we send men and women to die on foreign lands. Ironically, our soldiers are often fighting so that those oppressed by dictatorships may also have the right to vote and so for them we cast our vote with great reverence. Finally, we glimpse into our future and know that it is vital that all voices are heard in order to continue with a democratic society. The Constitution is only considered a living document because people vote and those votes give that paper its life and breath.

In 1789, an African American was not even considered a complete human being. They would not be granted full citizenship until well after the 1860's and the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments. Specifically, the 15th Amendment gave former male slaves the right to vote. It would take and additional 90 years and the Civil Rights movement, a combination of violent and non-violent actions, to make voting a right for all African Americans. Women too would have to fight for their rights as full citizens. On November 15, 1917, thirty-three women were wrongly convicted of "obstructing the sidewalk" were arrested and sent to Occoquan Workhouse (prison). Once there they were abused, beaten and illegally imprisoned because they dared to picket then president Woodrow Wilson for the right to vote. It would not be until the 19th Amendment (1919) that states; " the rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." However, just as in the case of the African Americans, women too would have to continue the fight for the right to make their voices heard and their vote to truly count well into the 1970's. We cannot truly justify questioning the importance of voting when so many had to overcome such adversity to win the right to vote.

When we vote it is sometimes to decide whether to send our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, and fathers to foreign lands to die in order to give the right to vote to all people. We recently celebrated Memorial Day a time in which we reflect on all those fallen heroes and the sacrifices they made for us to be free and afford us such rights, (like freedom of speech, press, religion, and our right to vote) that we enjoy today. With voting comes an awesome power and responsibility and we are reminded of that as we watch the casualties from Iraq come home in flag draped coffins. And for this reason alone voting is important; when we are willing to send our troops to die far from home to give others this right. These are compelling reasons and every American should cast a vote with great pride in every election.

Over the centuries many styles of government have come and gone like the feudal system, communism, and dictatorships, but we as American believe that our system of government is without end. Our way of life could never become a thing of the past, but if we do not recognize the value of casting our votes we run the risk of becoming the types of oppressed government we learn about in history books. For a democracy to survive it must have the participation of its people. Their voices need to be heard, ideas shared, and a body of government elected that represents those ideas. The only way that a democracy can function is through the participation of its people; however, in 2004, only 60% of the people who took the time to register actually went out and voted in the presidential elections. How many people who meet the requirements to vote never even bothered to register? How many were African Americans? How many were women? Were there any members of the military that did not bother to vote or even register? Democracy is like a flower that needs to be nurtured by the people through their votes. It is important for people to vote to ensure that their way of life continues.

Yes, voting is a right and one that we must all remember has come to us at a great price. Many have made immense sacrifices so that we may choose our own destiny through choosing our own government. So, for any American not to cast their vote on Election Day shows that they fail to recognize or honor all the hardship faced by African Americans and women. For any American not to recognize the importance of voting ignores the high price paid by our military men and women who die daily to ensure freedom and the right to vote. When people neglect to vote they neglect the democratic way of life and run the risk of losing this style of government forever. Voting is not just important and it is not just our right; it is the key to our existence. To be an American means to choose. It means to vote.