By Mackenzie Clark
I consider myself a patriot. I feel I am incredibly lucky to have been born in America and I wouldn’t trade this gift for the world.
With this gift comes responsibility. I feel those of us at the college and in this country who are eligible to vote have an obligation to become informed and voice their opinions.
By the time you pick up this issue, it may be too late to change your mind if you’ve already skipped the polls. If not, perhaps I can persuade you.
Obviously the past four years have not gone as well as some thought they would. Our government – on the sides of both political parties – has failed us.
This election coming up Tuesday may be the single most important one in our lifetimes, whether you’re reading this as a student fresh out of high school or if you’re a member of the Brown & Gold Club.
I’m certainly not endorsing one presidential candidate over another (remember, there are more than just Obama and Romney, even if they don’t stand a chance of actually winning), but something has to change.
Jobless numbers continue to fluctuate, usually growing. You could walk up to any random student in the hall and they would probably have a story to tell about how hard these economic times and this insane political climate has been for them.
We are all hurting. You are not alone, and neither am I.
Please, my fellow students; my respected faculty and administators: get informed about the issues and vote for the candidates you believe are going to do the most good for our country.
It’s not too late to learn what they stand for and what they intend to do. I can almost guarantee any candidate for any office has a website; all you need to do is a quick Google search and you can probably find any information you wish.
However, if you refuse to do so, please take a cue from Tasha Cook’s column above and stay home on election day. Also, as Cook said, those of us who don’t miss a single election do not want to hear the complaints of those who don’t.
If you think your vote doesn’t count, you’re wrong. Every vote counts to someone.
I implore you, readers: please take even just 15 minutes to read up on the candidates – local and national – and take the time to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 6. And please, vote for what you truly believe is right.
This country will be great again one day, but it’s in our own hands.
Contact Mackenzie Clark, editor-in-chief, at mclark68@jccc.edu.