Don't Boo Vote

When I first turned 18, I was excited to vote. Mostly because it meant I was an "adult". Little did I know being an adult is lame. I should have stayed young while I still could. I turned 18 on August 3, 2012, otherwise known as election year between Obama and Romney. I didn't know too much about either, except little snippets we watched in my Government and Citizenship class. I almost failed that class but ended up getting an A. Thanks Mr. Lehman. Anyway, I remember one specific video we watched about the election. It was a news clip from NBC, I believe. The news anchor was asking people why they were voting who they were voting for. Whenever it was someone voting for Obama, it played "circus" music in the background. We talked about how news stations will play "funny" music like subliminal messages to try and sway people against voting for them. I did end up voting for Romney back then, but probably for the wrong reasons. I did no research except when I read the little handout they give you when waiting to vote. Mostly I didn't think my vote would matter, so I just voted to say I did. Also to get the sticker, obviously.

Flash forward to me moving to college and just small elections happening. I did not vote in any sort of elections going on in that time. I don't even know if I voted for the SUU Student Body President. Which is a shame because I was even a part of the SUU Student Association and then Presidential Ambassadors. Somehow I was registered in Cedar City, so I couldn't vote for anything in American Fork. I didn't really care enough about Cedar City to vote for their officials (no offense Cedar. I just knew I wasn't going to be staying for very long, so I didn't think it was my problem who won or not).

Flash forward again to the 2016 elections. I had recently become friends with amazing people who are really passionate about voting. I still didn't really think my vote would matter. Also I couldn't remember where I was registered, so I just wasn't going to do it. My friends, Devin and Lexi, changed my mind. They were so passionate about it that I figured I would vote. Devin talked a lot about "boo voting". I didn't really understand what this was, so I either asked him to explain or I googled it so I could look like I knew what it was. Basically boo voting is when you don't vote, but you still complain about why the government is the way that it is. Devin probably went on a rant about how no one deserves to complain about the government unless they tried to stop it by voting. You can't just sit back, watch, and complain. You need to take a stand, and if things aren't going the way you want, then you can complain about it. You only get the right to complain if you vote. This really stuck with me. How many times had I complained about something happening that I didn't even try to stop? I decided then and there to vote every time I had the chance to.

Last month, I had the amazing opportunity to write voting postcards to random people around the world for the American Civil Liberties Union. Devin, of course, hosted the postcard party. We never said who or what to vote for, just encouraged people to vote. It was a lot of fun, and I hope our random postcards helped people decide to vote in this year's elections.

I'm proud to say that I did a lot more research for the 2016 elections and this year's elections. I may not be as informed as a lot of other people out there, but I'm better than I was in 2012. Also I'm at least trying instead of letting the elections pass by without doing anything and then complaining about it later on.

Whether you believe your vote will matter or not, you should do your civic duty and vote. That way you actually tried to do something to help your country. Also isn't it amazing that we have the opportunity to vote? We get to actually participate in making history! And if it doesn't go the way you voted, then you earned the right to complain about it.

The point of this post is, don't boo vote.