Don’t let anyone tell you or deceive you into believing that your vote doesn’t count. When you cast your vote, you are taking a stand for a person or an issue you believe is valuable. Your vote matters.
The hardest part of voting is the outcome. Bravo if the person you voted for is elected or the issue you voted on passes. However, just because you voted and the results were or were not in your favor, doesn’t mean that you should give up or stop fighting the battle. Keep going, invest more time and effort as your next step.
Invest in and engage in discussions, align yourself with like-minded people, get out and share your thoughts, your position and use your voice to express the reasons you believe the issue(s) should matter to others. Use your words to combat the opposite opinion or the person you believe should have been elected. Don’t take the passive position of sitting, sulking, or complaining. Instead, stand up, speak up and use your voice to create an honest dialogue or debate the matter in such a way that provides opportunities for others to share their position.
Sharing our position has become difficult. Many in our society have seemingly lost the idea that open dialogue and discussion about a person or issue is a good thing. Recently we have seen an increase in violence, riots, hate-filled speech, hostility towards individuals who express different opinions, etc. People are frightened, alienated, and have given up hope that things will never change. Stop the hatred, stop ridiculing people because of their opinion. Instead of spewing hate language, instead start listening to the opposition, you might learn something. When we allow the discontinuation of dialogue and discussion, we lose even greater because open discussion and dialog create an environment for innovation, progress, and sharing ideas leads to learning, which leads to solutions that neither party may have considered as viable.
To move forward we must stop the intimidation and use our voice. Contact your local, state, and federal representatives – let your voice be heard on the issues or things that matter to you. Another way is to attend local board meetings such as city council, boards of trustees, school board, library, county commissioners, or send messages to inform them how you want them to vote, make recommendations for an issue(s) that should be addressed.
In addition to local and state representatives, we have additional representatives that can be your party voice. These are your Republican, Democrat, or Independent representatives at the County or State Central Committee. Again, even within your own political party you have a voice, so please use it to vote for people who will listen, respond, and communicate with you.
If you want Your Voice to Matter, you must use it -- express your needs, wants, and desires – VOTE and be involved in the process.
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