Now that the recent mid-term is election behind us, I feel it incumbent upon myself (oh, groan, I just realized the pun) to mention a thought I had about voting, which I mentioned in the company of my mom and sister this evening.

You hear often about how everyone should vote because they can, because this is a free country and we should celebrate our freedom. Blah blah the power of one vote blah blah this blah blah that.

Screw it all.

As a citizen of what purports to be a democracy, it is your, my, and everyone else's who meets legal requirements, responsibility to inform ourselves about the issues at stake and vote in every election. It is something we owe ourselves, our communities and our nation.

Our democracy doesn't work because it takes voting to make it work. If you want to complain about this or the other sorry state of affairs, you must understand that the systems are in place to fix it if only people vote regularly, conscientiously in sufficient numbers. Voter apathy is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think your vote will count for nothing so you don't vote, then it really does count for nothing.

If you think politics doesn't matter, then you take too much for granted. It is only through political change that social change is recognized. In a different political climate, such as exists in other nations and could exist in ours if we don't take seriously our responsibility to put in place wise leaders and good laws, things would be different. Races would still be segregated, or even worse, subjugated. Slavery and/or neo-serfdom would arise. There would be no freedom of speech or thought. Gay rights? Ha! You have the right to burn at the stake or get locked up in an asylum.

Or even better, run for office yourself. Michael Moore's Stupid White Men has a great section on that whole deal. It's not just for stupid rich straight white men with no vision.

Enough. You get the picture. Do something.