Generation X and votes.

Certain things bother me more than most these days. Much of them dealing with our generation or rather Generation X. Much of Generation X was born from the baby boomers (those born between 1948 through 1960). For a previous generation that for the most part has shown up the polls in large numbers, who took an active part in politics demanding change in the 60s, protesting the Vietnam War and preaching peace, love and flower power, I could never understand why our generation never seemed to care about modern day politics.

Certain comments have come to my attention as this election approaches. I recently read a blog of an old but now distant friend. What can I say, occasionally I get bored and read on what other people have to say. Awhile back, she wrote a blog on some of the more interesting things about her since her graduation from school. In it, a certain comment popped out. In it she noted she wasn't registered to vote. She claimed she was a bad citizen but that she simply "Just didn't want to." In her blog she is quoted as saying, "I just don't want to register with a party, but I don't want to register to be Independent. I'm just going to sit in the middle and let other people pretend like they are deciding."

I have to say, that comment irked me in away I hadn't felt in awhile. My first and for most opinion is that someone who doesn't vote has no right to complain about the current state of affairs wither local or federal. If one cannot participate in on the most basic of democratic principles, then he or she cannot complain about anything. If you want change, you should fight for it. More so the shear fact that she came to the conclusion that somehow her vote wouldn't really matter angered me even more. Your vote always matters. Even a single vote can sway an election in ways people never could even imagine. Bush won the 2000 election by a mear 5 Electoral votes and yet only 47.9% of the popular vote with Gore winning 48.4%. Someone voting really does decide on what is in store for the future of this country. Personally, not voting in the most simplest of local elections in many ways shows you as being not necessarily a bad citizen but rather a poor citizen. Admitting that that not voting and being a poor citizen is one thing but to not register and then claim, "but I am a good citizen cause I don't jaywalk" is a poor way of vindicating one's self. One should always participate in on government whether it's in town hall meetings, watching CSPAN or even VOTING!!! The policies of today can effect everything about your from taxes, to your job, to how you raise your children. Not to mention, should one care about the future of there children? What hold in store for your kids and government.

Hope of course is that my generation will start to finally care about this up and coming election. Much of the news finally states of college students registering in record numbers. My only hope is those same numbers will translate to that of people showing up to the polls. It doesn't matter whether you are a republican or democrat, conservative or liberal or even an independent "which really is just a way to say you are a liberal (Democrat) and just don't want to admit it." It's time for Generation X to stand up to what they believe in. The simplest way to do that is to simply mark that ballot this November 2nd. My hope extends to that very person that posted that blog.

P.S. Apparently I have now been listed amongst the many "Liberal Elites" of this nation in political ideologies of FDR, JFK, or even the Rockerfellers" Not a bad list huh?