{"id":1004,"date":"2018-11-05T20:42:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T20:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=1004"},"modified":"2018-11-05T20:42:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-05T20:42:00","slug":"responsibility-citizenship-voting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2018\/11\/responsibility-citizenship-voting.html","title":{"rendered":"The Responsibility of Citizenship: Voting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"achievement-america-american-flag-1550340\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2016, approximately 60% of eligible voters cast their ballots in the presidential election. Which makes me wonder, \u201cWhat were the other 40% doing that day?\u201d\u00a0 Did they all get lost on the way to the polls?\u00a0 Were many of them stuck under a large piece of furniture?\u00a0 What exactly was keeping them from meeting their civic responsibility to vote?<\/p>\n

In our country, we like to talk a lot about our rights<\/em> as citizens.\u00a0 We have the right to free speech.\u00a0 We have the right to buy guns.\u00a0 We have the right to remain silent and not incriminate ourselves.\u00a0 But we are loath to talk about our responsibilities<\/em> as citizens.<\/p>\n

Part of living in a democracy means that you have a responsibility to participate in elections. This responsibility is an important one.\u00a0 When everyone votes, that allows our country to elect government officials who accurately reflect our American values.\u00a0 Otherwise, we risk electing leaders who are unqualified, either intellectually or morally, to lead.<\/p>\n

In the 2016 election, I heard a lot of very poor reasons for why people didn\u2019t vote. Some people said that they didn\u2019t \u201clike\u201d either candidate.\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 This isn\u2019t high school.\u00a0 Elections aren\u2019t a search for the king and queen of the prom.\u00a0 They aren\u2019t popularity contests.\u00a0 Elections essentially are job interviews, and a candidate either has the experience and demeanor for the job, or he or she doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Sometimes people complain that they can\u2019t take the day off work. Well, you don\u2019t have to.\u00a0 You can vote by mail.\u00a0 My elderly mother votes by mail for every election.\u00a0 If an 83-year-old lady can figure out how to vote by mail, so can you.<\/p>\n

We are no longer living in a world in which we can be complacent about choosing our leaders. If the last two years has taught us anything, it is that by not voting, we can end up with leaders who don\u2019t reflect our American values, and who don\u2019t even understand what it means to be American.<\/p>\n

We can end up with leaders who don\u2019t understand that we are a country that was created by immigrants, and it is the immigrant tenacity which has made our country great. We can end up with leaders who don\u2019t think that women should have authority over their own bodies.\u00a0 We can end up with leaders who don\u2019t understand that the United States is supposed be a beacon of morality, and that it is our duty to help those who are less fortunate and suffering, no matter where they may be on the globe.<\/p>\n

So tomorrow, meet your responsibility as a citizen and vote. Your opinion and your vote matters.<\/p>\n

(Photo Courtesy of Pexels)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2016, approximately 60% of eligible voters cast their ballots in the presidential election. Which makes me wonder, \u201cWhat were the other 40% doing that day?\u201d\u00a0 Did they all get lost on the way to the polls?\u00a0 Were many of them stuck under a large piece of furniture?\u00a0 What exactly was keeping them from meeting…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Responsibility of Citizenship: Voting - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2018\/11\/responsibility-citizenship-voting.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Responsibility of Citizenship: Voting - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2016, approximately 60% of eligible voters cast their ballots in the presidential election. 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