Why My Vote Matters

Former President of the United States Barack Obama, once said, “Our collective futures depend on the willingness to uphold your duties as a citizen to vote.” Obama was stressing the importance of voting as an opportunity to take responsibility and be an influence. Many people don’t stop and think about the true significance of voting. Many people don’t appreciate why voting matters. Many people don’t know why voting matters. I sometimes wonder if my vote matters. Simply put, my vote matters because it is my right,  my voice, and my legacy.

My vote matters because it pays tribute. It’s a way of me recognizing the fact that others paved the way and earned the right for me to vote. From the citizens that fight their own everyday battles to the soldiers that risk their lives for us to vote. Voting can be a way of expressing our thankfulness and gratitude for the brave people that fought and stood up for us, because it’s thanks to all of those people  that we have the things we have today.

My vote matters because my vote is my voice. We live in a nation that serves it’s beloved people. Voting is a way of making our voices heard. It serves as a way to express ourselves. Voting shows that our opinion matters. The fact we can vote shows that the decisions we make are what affect our futures.That we as people are confident in the rights and privileges we are provided to ask for changes we believe are fit  for the better of our country.

Finally, my vote matters because it holds my legacy. Not only do the decisions we make affect our people today but also future generations to come including myself. Voting is a very simple yet very effective way to have an impact on our future. New Yorker Milton Glaser who was behind the 1977 “I Love New York” campaign which was one of the most visible and imitated public advocacy campaigns ever: Used this slogan paired with these words. “To vote is to exist.” “If you don’t vote you’re essentially invisible. You don’t affect the structure of your own life or anyone else for that matter.” I want to vote because I understand the impact it has on the future of myself and others. So Instead  thinking of voting as an undesirable and time consuming chore. Think of voting as an opportunity, an opportunity to change our world for the better.

So when I have the opportunity to vote. I’m voting for the people that can’t vote. I’m voting for the people that were willing to sacrifice everything they have so we don’t have to. I want to vote for the people that believe justice and change for the better matters. I want our veterans to know that the people they fought and risked their lives for are what make our country better. That the efforts of those who risked their lives were not in vain. For these reasons, I want to show that I’m thankful for the things I have by exercising the rights that have been given to me and to honor and display the goodwill and morality of our great American people. That’s why this November 6th I hoped to see record voter turnout

This essay was written by Tyler Fitzsimmons of Glasgow High School and won the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3107 “Voice of Democracy” essay competition. Fitzsimmons’ essay will go on to compete at the state level.