get the vote out essay...

Stephanie Otte
February 11th, 2008
English 1020
Words: 827
Get the vote out

I couldn’t have agreed more to this article. This article immediately triggered my thoughts on my voting habits. I am one of the many Americans who choose not to vote because I do not have the time or the knowledge to vote with the best abilities. I believe that if I am going to cast a vote for who is going to be running the country in which I live than I should know a lot more about them than their slogan. I also think that there are many more people in this country far more educated than me in which I trust to vote for whom they believe is right for the position. I also think that it is my right to not vote because honestly I do not want to have to choose between the better of the two evils. I do not know enough about their platforms or about their beliefs to make an educated vote in either direction and I will not be one of the guessing voters who just picks the names that sound the most familiar. In my mind the speaker is someone like me, who does not cast votes and is annoyed by all the people feeling forced to make poor judgment on their voting. The speaker is talking to all Americans telling them that they do not have to vote and that they shouldn’t vote unless they feel educated enough on the issue. I believe that the speaker is a little on the republican side just because he uses an example involving their parties name and the remark wasn’t a negative one. But according to the phrase “get out the vote” which he stated came from Lincoln; he seems to be a fan of Abraham Lincoln and seems to be pretty loyal to him.
The phrases that go something like vote now or you may never vote again, or this may be your last chance is a foolish way to make the non voter crowd eel obligated to cast their vote, educated or not. This is similar to the “get the vote out” slogan and I believe that the phrases are intended for the same audience. Once again the message is to vote, no matter what. All of these messages are directed to the same group of people, the non voters. Although the “get the vote out” slogan may be intended for a larger group of people than the “now or never” slogans, in my eyes they are saying the same thing, and bringing the same message to Americans that choose not to vote.
In the end, this article is arguing the right to chose whether or not to vote, and that voting is a privilege. Being a privilege we as Americans can choose to vote or not to vote and it is our right to do so. This article was written for those Americans such as my self that choose not to vote and believe that it is their right to be able to choose. In my eyes it is worse to cast a foolish ballot than to not cast one at all. at least if we do not make uneducated guesses it leaves more room for those who do know enough about the candidates to make the correct decision for our country. I hate how much pressure others try to put on those that do not vote, I is just as much my right to choose not to vote as it is you’re to choose to vote. I don’t go around saying that you shouldn’t vote, but if you do not know what you’re voting on than why risk voting for the wrong candidate.
The date in which this article was written took me by surprise, because I had thought that in the fifties most Americans wanted to vote. I have never thought of Americans not wanting to have some say in their countries leaders in this time frame. In 1955 it was the start of the civil rights movement and people were fighting for their rights to vote. This seems somewhat ironic to me to think that one group of people were demanding the right to vote while others did not want to exercise their right to cast a vote. Although in the article it seems like other around the non voter crowd are somewhat pushy and that gives away how the surroundings and culture was in the fifties. It is especially interesting to me that in the article it mentions making a vote mandatory and that if you did not vote you could possibly end up in jail in the future. Now that it is sixty years or so later from the article there is more and more citizens that choose not to cast a ballot. I find this remarkable that people were actually scared of going to jail for not voting, because like I said it is a privilege to vote not a demand.