One out of 155 Million

Voting is my civic duty.

It is the height of democracy.

It is my way of swaying the tides of history.

At least, that is what I am told.

And so, as the 2024 presidential elections approached, I decided that if I was to vote, I had to be an informed voter. If not well-informed, then I would be failing my civic duty, disrespecting democracy, and guiding the tides of history toward their peril. I wanted to learn, but what I actually learned during this process was not what I expected. I was left somewhat disappointed.

I kept up with the news, only to see corporate agendas being promoted.

I watched political debates, only to find childish insults being hurled.

I examined policies, only to read promises that I knew would be broken.

I learned about candidates, only to discover they were people I could not trust.

I soon realized that electoral campaigns were billion-dollar machines designed to demonize the opposing side and manipulate citizens into becoming loyal voters.

To become an informed voter, I would have to wade through a quagmire of lies, misinformation, and deception in search of anything remotely resembling truth. And who knows where I would eventually end up. Was there even a truth to be found at the end of this journey?

And let’s say I do learn everything I can about politics and policies through this incumbent swamp-wading. Say I become knowledgeable in the political world and can now make the best decision I can as a voter. I still only have the same two candidates from which to choose. I learned – my choices remained the same: A or B.

But I had to wade.

After all, it was my civic duty, the height of democracy, my hand swaying the tides.

Is that not what voting is: making my voice heard?

Is that really true?

155 million Americans voted in the 2024 election.

My vote was one out of 155 million.

A statistician might say something like: “Your ballot was statistically irrelevant.”

It was little more than a checkmark on a paper cast to the wind; a whispering voice in a world without ears.

I waded through lies to find no truth, to have an opinion that did not matter, about candidates who did not change as I became better informed.

That is my duty.

That is how I can make my nation better.

That is why my nation needs my voice.

Right...?

No.

Surely, that cannot be it.

Don’t get me wrong.

I want to do my civic duty.

I want to cherish the privilege of democracy.

I want to sway the tides of history.

But there has to be a better way to accomplish this than by simply casting a ballot.

Voting is too small an action to spark change. It expects others to be the change instead of embodying it myself. It outsources responsibility so that I can remain the same, so that I don’t have to pay a price.

In reality, casting a ballot is the least of a citizen’s duties.

It is at the bottom of the totem pole.

It is the most minuscule impact citizens can have on their nation.

Far more significant than voting are everyday actions: helping the poor, being kind, showing charity, loving those who oppose you, having dinner with those of differing political views, welcoming foreign cultures, learning and caring about those who have differing faiths, being a force that unites instead of one that divides, and above all – loving your neighbor.

Before I vote, it is my civic duty to shovel my neighbor's driveway.

Before I vote, I must give food to the homeless.

Before I vote, I must invite the new immigrant family over for dinner.

For good to happen, a price must be paid.

Casting a ballot expects others (the government) to do good at no cost to me.

My civic duty is to take on the responsibility of doing good and bearing the cost.

What if, instead of wading through agendas to cast a one-in-155-million vote, I visit my elderly neighbor?

What if, instead of reading policies, I read Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations?

What if, instead of watching debates, I become acquainted with the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Dostoevsky, or Socrates?

What if, instead of debating politics around dinner, I ask my family what it means to do good?

And now, imagine this:

What if all 155 million voters prioritize these civic duties over voting?

What if, instead of demanding governmental change, they become the change themselves?

That, I would say, is their civic duty.

That is the height of democracy.

That is how the tides of history can be swayed.

source: wall.alphacoders.com