Freedom to vote shouldn't be taken lightly

We hear a great deal about the right to vote in America. And in a land where at one time or another certain groups did not have that ability, I can understand the passion for the focus.

However, having been privileged to live outside the US in countries where the “right” to vote is mandated by the government, I’d rather focus on the “freedom” to vote.
There is a distinct difference.

The right to vote is often hard fought, with words and violence, and then enforced through much of the same.

I have seen the right to vote enforced with barbed wire and machine guns and a government who forced everyone to return to the city of their birth and penalized them if they didn’t vote.

However, the freedom to vote gives me a choice. To vote or not to vote. To be informed or not to be informed. I can choose to think about the issues and make my own decision based on how well I’ve studied the information. I can even choose the sources of information I use.

No one checks my voter’s card to make sure I voted before giving me a job, letting me attend college, allowing me to get married or letting me draw retirement.

And when I walk into the voter’s booth, no one is looking over my shoulder to make sure I vote for the “right” candidate.

This freedom to vote is an awesome privilege and responsibility. It’s not available in every country, even those who claim to hold “democratic” elections. The freedom to vote means I play an integral part in the formation of my country or city’s governing power. It means I am as responsible as those in Congress for the direction – or lack of it—which the country takes. I – not some city or state or federal leader – hold my grandchildren’s future in the casting of my ballot.

Compulsory voting isn’t free; it isn’t even a right. It’s a form of slavery.

We often get angry at those who choose not to vote. Part of the freedom to vote is the freedom not to vote. It doesn’t absolve us of the consequences of actions any more than voting absolves us of the consequences of those choices. But it is a choice and a privilege and a freedom not everyone gets to enjoy.

So on November 4, practice your freedom to vote and remember it is one of the many blessings of living in the United States of America.

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. ---John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) Sixth President of the USA.