Never vote? Time to fix that!

It must be nice living your life without a care in the world. Not worried about what’s happening around you, or the condition of your fellow man and woman. Yeah, it must be really nice to go about your business caring only about yourself, and as long as you’re able to eek out a living with nobody bothering you, nothing else really matters, does it?

That includes voting, I’m sure.

 You decided a long time ago that politics aren't for you. Paying attention to what a bunch of hypocrites say and do is just not your cup of tea. Politicians lie for a living, you believe, especially the ones who claim to be on your side. None of them ever do anything that you can see or hear that has any positive affect on your life, right? Why should you care about what any of them say or do -  none of your business, right? Even if you decided to pay attention, and vote one day, it's not going to change anything because you’re just one person, right?

Well, WRONG to all three questions! 

 Like it or not, you’re a U.S. citizen. Fastest way to discover that is to have something bad happen to you, and the first thing you’ll be screaming about is the fact that you’re an American, and should be treated better because you’ve got rights.

 But those “rights” are no damn good if you’ve not done what’s necessary to safeguard them. You know, do a little maintenance from time to time.

 I’m talking about VOTING!

 Just like a car, new or used, if you don’t do the required maintenance when needed, pretty soon old Betsy is going to put you down. Nothing is free in this life, and that’s especially true about living in this country, especially now.

 If you didn’t vote in the last presidential election, then count yourself among those who are responsible for the grand mess we’re all suffering under. We have a crazy criminal president who believes he should be king for life, have power for life, and should be allowed to break any law he wants, commit any crime he desires without question, for life.

 The man is exactly who you think all politicians are - crooked and uncaring about you and your family. No, you didn’t put him in office, but you didn't do a whole lot to keep him out either! And to be fair, a lot of politicians today are indeed trying to mimic him, because folks like you let him get away with it by not voting. 

 What I’m describing is what happens when you don’t pay attention to what’s going on in your country - the country you pay taxes in whether you vote or not; the country you send your children to school in whether you vote or not; the country where you can be arrested by someone wearing a badge whether you’ve committed a crime or not. The country you expect clean water from every time you turn on the tap. What if that stopped?

 If all of that can happen to you here in the country you live, pay taxes and raise a family in, then you need to be voting.

 Still not convinced? Then start small. Vote in your local elections for town or city council, school board. See how much weight your vote carries in those races. Get to know the candidates, what they’re saying about addressing the pressing needs and issues of your community. If they don’t seem to know about what you feel is important, then tell them! Attend a town hall or two where you can speak out. Or send a letter or email and ask for a response. Remember, this is citizenship. It doesn’t do itself anymore than your car can fix itself. YOU have make it work by voting for the candidates you learn about and trust.

 Better yet, if you’re game, why not run for local office yourself if you feel you can’t trust anybody else to do the things you know need to get done in your community? First see if there are other folks who care about the same issues you do, the same way you do, and ask for their support. Not saying it would be easy, but it certainly would be worthwhile if you have what it takes.

 If you do all, or most of the above, you’ll discover that there are other people out there, just like you, who also could really make a difference in your community, county, state and nation. And that’s what we desperately need right now, people willing to serve their communities because they care about citizenship and service. They care about the future.

 And it all starts with voting, and getting involved in the process as much as possible. Answering phones for a political campaign; helping to get campaign literature out to the community; being a precinct captain when Election Day comes along.

 But if all you did was simply vote for the best candidates to serve you and your community, that would be perfectly fine too. If you only vote, and do none of the other stuff, I ain't mad at 'cha!

 What I don’t want you to do is have all of this power, and not use it. There are people out there who, every election, spend big bucks making sure that you never realize how much power you really have when you vote. And by stopping you, they get what they want. Which means they’re taking power from you.

 When someone is willing to pick your pocket of the power that belongs to you, that means you really don’t have the control over your life you think.  Someone has chumped your power, and you helped them by doing nothing about it. Remember that the next time you have to pay high prices at the store because of high import tariffs, or can’t get the city or county to fix something in your neighborhood. You deliberately don't have a voice right now, so who cares what you think?!!!

 Look what’s happening. The cost of living is going up, not because someone is doing the best they can to manage the economy properly and can’t catch a break, but because someone is playing games with the economy so that his billionaire buddies won’t have to pay their fair share of taxes.

 That nonsense needs to be stopped, and it can be, if likeminded people come together for the 2026 midterm elections, and change Congress, starting with the House. But if you don’t vote, if you don’t actively cast your ballot to change things, then nothing will happen except more bad news.

 Bad news you and yours will ultimately pay for. Is that OK with you? Are you independently wealthy or something? 

 You see what’s happening. Not only is there a crazy criminal in Washington, but right here in North Carolina, we’ve got shifty Republican judges trying to steal completed elections they lost by getting other shifty Republicans to throw legal votes out.

 How do you fight such a travesty? VOTE!

 Put people in place ready, willing and able to fight back, to fight for YOUR rights, and your future as a citizen. It won’t happen unless you do! But you have to be smart about it!

 So yes, let’s fix this! I know you probably don’t watch the news, or even read a newspaper, because the crazy stuff that’s on there screws with your head and spirit.

  I get that.

 But it can’t be fixed without you. It can’t. And if you’re worried about whether your vote can make a difference all by itself, then again, be smart, and find likeminded folks in your family, church or neighborhood who are willing to come together to vote, and make that difference.

 I’m writing now because I want you thinking about all of this long before the next local and state elections, and the 2026 midterms. And I want you to pay close attention to what’s going on, and how people are using, and misusing power IN YOUR NAME, whether you know it or not!

 Never vote? Let’s fix that. Get registered first, because trust me, there are folks out there working hard to make sure that you NEVER get the chance! And now you HAVE to care, because they’re not just robbing your rights, but picking your pocket!

 Pay attention, get registered and VOTE!