The question isn't why...

Hello Blogging World,
With Hurricane Ike having made landfall, I feel I can now tear myself away from the Weather Channel long enough to do a little blogging. Unfortunately, courtesy of Ike and the whereabouts of my family, I have been focusing on the storm a little more than political current events. So, as a result I am taking this moment to address a political problem rather than a political current event. With the presidential election fast approaching, a common question on everyone's lips is "Who are you voting for?". A handfull of my close friends shocked me when they answered, "nobody, I'm not registered and I never plan on doing so". In my shock, I proceeded to ask several other people, everyone from classmates to people sitting next to me on the bus, "Are you registered to vote, and do you plan on voting?". To my dismay, I got several similar responses. The beauty of the United States is that is your liberty, not voting, and so I resisted the urge to scream at them how it is their civic duty. However, I could not resist the urge to ask them why they felt this way. Every single person I talked to about this all came back with the same retort. They wanted me to give them one reason WHY they should vote. The only thing I have been able to come up with is, "WHY NOT?". If you really look at it, there are no extreme consequences to voting. It is one of those things in life that will not come back to bite you in the butt. You won't be reprimanded for your choice. The only possibility is the person you voted for doesn't get elected, but by not voting that is still a likely concern. So, give yourself a chance at winning. Put your voice out there, and instead of asking "Why?", start asking yourself "Why not?".