By B Villalon. It has been two months since the presidential elections and a president has been chosen. However, while many people rushed to the voting polls, you did not vote that day because you decided to chill with your friends at the mall instead.
"It's no big deal," you say to yourself, "It's not like the president affects me directly anyway." And you go on with the rest of your day.
You first decide to visit your friend Victoria, who you have not seen in two years. You go over to her house and eat brunch while reminiscing about the good old care-free days when both of you were in high school. Suddenly she starts opening up to you and telling you that last week she had an abortion. Her second abortion to be exact. You can't believe your ears. You think to yourself… was she abused? was she raped? No, she just got involved in many senseless acts and now was trying to erase her mistakes by killing the outcome.
As a Christian, you think to yourself, "Why does things like this happen? Why doesn't anyone do anything about it?" You wish that you could do something about it, but then you realize that if only you voted for the president who believed in pro-life and a child’s right to live. ... But you didn't.
After visiting Victoria's house, you feel a little tired so you decide to just go home for a little while and watch T.V. to kill time. The only thing that is on during this hour is the news so you watch it. As it turns out, there was another shooting at a school, similar to the Columbine scenario. Twenty kids were shot: five died, and the rest injured.
"How horrible!" you think to yourself. " Why are people allowed to have guns anyway? Without guns, this world be such a better place." You wish that you could do something to stop Americans from purchasing guns, but then you realize that you could have voted for a president who believed in gun control, and the enforcement of stricter laws dealing with the selling of guns, but you didn't.
When the news is over, you decide to take a walk around your block. While you are walking, you run into a man dressed in torn jeans, and a ripped shirt. His legs are cut off and he is on a wheelchair. He is homeless and carries a tin can with him in hopes that he could live off people's generosity. After giving him $5, you decide to sit and chat with him and you find out that he was a war veteran who fought in Vietnam. He lost his legs while fighting for our country. His injury prevented him from finding work, so, unable to support himself, he eventually became homeless and was forced to live in poverty.
You really feel sorry for this man and start to wonder why this man isn't being taken care of by the country he fought for. You wish that you could do something to help him but then you realize that you could have voted for a president who looked out for American veterans, but you didn't. All because you wanted to chill with your friends.
It is extremely sad to see young adults who refuse to vote. What they do not understand is that voting is a privilege, not only a right, and it should exercised.
Without voting, a person does not have any right to complain, or be upset about how the government is ran because they did not participate in the voting process.
So now, in the tension-tight race for the presidency between Democrat Vice President Al Gore and Republican Texas Gov. George Bush, where one vote could make all the difference and finally make a decision of who will be the president of the U.S., your vote could make the difference.
Your vote could make the difference of whether or not pro-choice or pro-life gains, whether gun laws or just enforcement rules, or whether America will provide for the veterans or let them continue down in their cycle of poverty. One vote can make the difference.
What do you think?