Let's Not Get Out the Vote

Right off the bat, the argument becomes very clear and is a good one at that. The argument is that of whether or not we should be required to vote. The speaker seems to be just an average citizen who believes that we should not be required to vote. They go on to explain why with a very intelligent argument. The speaker doesn't have to necessarily have a political affiliation. The argument for not voting if you are not well-informed seems like it could come from someone affiliated with any political party. It's not about the party, it's about your knowledge in the election.

The author is speaking to the general public. He is probably reaching out to speak more closely to those who do vote when they are not well-informed. He wants to get across the point that by voting, you are not doing a civic duty. Your duty is to know the election, the candidates, their stances and opinions. Then, and only then, should you vote. It is important for every citizen to realize this.

The media plays a huge part today in voter turnout. The campaign "Vote or Die" for example was a huge campaign in the last presidential election geared towards young Americans. Celebrities donned shirts with the catchphrase and it became more of a fashion statement than a political one. The purpose of "Vote or Die" was to get young adults to get out and vote in an important election. However, the campaign promoted nothing about gathering knowledge of the candidates before voting. It wasn't called "Once you've learned everything you can about each candidate, Vote or Die". A lot of young people who would be voting for the first time may have gotten the wrong idea from this campaign. The idea that it doesn't matter who you're voting for or what you know about them as long as you vote.

The arguement of this essay is that one should be well-informed of an election before voting. If you have no desire to learn anything about the election and it's candidates, then you should not vote. Many people have the misconception that you must vote or you are being a bad citizen. The article explains how in truth, you are being a bad citizen if you do vote without the correct knowledge. I completely agree with this arguement. I just voted for the first time last week in the primary election for presidency. I don't think I was as informed as I could be, but I knew about the candidate I was voting for. I agree with that candidates views for the most part. I will admit, I could know more about the opposing candidates. I promised myself that sicne this is the first election I can vote in, that I would try to gain as much knowledge about it as possible. It's harder than it looks because there are a lot of factors that can sway your vote. I do think it is very important though to know as much as possible or you should just stay home on election day. Why have people who don't know anything about the election voting for candidates that you may not want to win? That's like me going to England today and voting in their local election after not knowing anything about it.

In the first paragraph of this essay, you realize it was not written recently when the author mentions President Eisenhower. In a way it's surprising that this was written in 1955 because the author is so knowledgable. I don't know if it's just me, but there seems to be a misconception that people 50+ years ago were not as knowledgable because they didn't have the resources we have today. It's impressive that this author has such an intelligent argument.

Also, it shows us that even though this was written over 50 years ago, the same thing applies today. Obviously people were just as ignorant about the issue back then. It's kind of sad to think not much has changed in 50 years. People still think it's your duty to vote. There's a phrase that people say that if you don't vote, you can't complain about the outcome. I agree with that, but I think too many people vote merely because of that and not because they know what they are voting for. If you can't take the time to learn about an election and it's candidates, then no, you have no room to complain when they stick an idiot in office. But that shouldn't be your sole reason for voting.

I guess the important thing is to get the message across that by not voting, you may be performing a civic duty, just as you would by voting. Become knowledgable about the election, it's candidates, and the facts before you just cast an empty-minded vote.