It frustrates me when I write my legislators about what I think they should do about an issue, and they send me a letter back telling me about their opinion. I believe in a democracy in which our representatives would actually represent the opinions and issues of us, their constituents. Instead I should receive a letter back that says, “Thank you for your input. I will be taking the opinion of all of my constituents, and make my decision based on that.”
Currently when a candidate decides they are going to run for office, they raise a lot of money and they give speeches telling us what they believe in. We decide based on these speeches who we will vote for. The person who receives the most votes wins the election, gets lots of pats on the back, and goes on to make decisions for us. It’s up to the winner of an election to decide whether or not they will consider the opinions of the people who voted for them? Am I the only one who sees the flaw in this?
I hear a great deal of apathy when talking to people about politics. I’ve heard, “It doesn’t matter, and they’re all liars anyway”. I’ve heard, “I don’t think my one vote really matters.” I’ve heard “They don’t listen to us, so why bother”. I realize I am somewhat abnormal for caring so much but when I hear any of these excuses I tend to get very animated with my arms flailing…“No, they’re not ALL liars”., “Of course one vote matters because it’s the collection of every one vote that elects people”. But my answer to “They don’t listen to us, so why bother” is hard for me to answer. The only thing I know to say is, “Make them listen”.
In America, when we are kids we are taught that this is the greatest country on the planet, we have the greatest government ever conceived and we believe it, because after all, we are just children. Then as adults we get lazy and we don’t question whether or not this really is the greatest country on the planet, or if our government actually is the greatest government ever conceived. Most of us choose to ignore what is going on or we just complain without taking any action. Most of us don’t try to improve what is wrong with our government system, some don’t bother to participate at all or even do the minimum which in my opinion is voting.
What’s a frustrated voter to do? Remind our representatives who they really work for.
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