Bryce Maloney ‘26
Staff Writer
As the United States enters into another intense election year, and as the possibility of a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump looms heavily on many people’s minds, it is important to remember the importance of our vote and the voice it lends to the preservation of our democracy. I have often heard it said amongst students here at Holy Cross that neither candidate excites them, and a selection between Biden and Trump makes them disinterested in voting altogether. In short, many claim that they would rather not vote at all then vote for a candidate who is not the amalgamation of their collective hopes, dreams, and desires for a perfect future. The idea of millions of young people, discouraged and disenchanted with the political system, refusing to cast their ballot in either direction, is a deeply troubling one– and makes me wonder just how little Americans truly understand the stakes of this election, nor the power of their vote.
As someone who has worked on many political campaigns in the past, my own learned experience reminds me daily of the importance of preserving our democracy. When I was fourteen years old, I got my first campaign internship through a program at my middle school. It was the summer after eighth grade, and I was so excited for all that was to come. However, this excitement and dread would soon turn sour as my first day of campaigning turned into a nightmare which has haunted me for the rest of my life. My first assignment was to canvas a small, quiet middle class neighborhood on the outskirts of Worcester, going door to door whilst jubilantly reading off of a carefully choreographed script. It was in this normal, seemingly ordinary place, that I would be confronted with the long end of a rifle pointed at my face. As the woman whose hand extended the firearm in my direction scarily looked on at me with bitter contempt, she shouted a number of politically based alcohol induced obscenities. As I darted off in the distance, I ducked and prayed that my life was not about to end. That day taught me the importance of voting as the only means of preserving our democratic system and its all too real implications. While I couldn’t vote at the young age of fourteen, this woman could. In fact, it should be noted that she was on a list of frequent voters, having made sure to cast her ballot in almost every recent election. I do not believe that this woman should be able to single handedly select our leaders, and making sure we vote is the only possible way we can prevent that from happening.
In nations around the world, people risk their lives every single day to experience even a single fleeting moment of the freedoms we enjoy. They stand in front of tanks, they are severely beaten, they are imprisoned, and are all too often threatened with the lethal use of a firearm. They do all of this gladly, giving their lives in order to have just a taste of the same kind of freedoms that many Americans just simply can’t find the motivation to use. With all that in perspective, I wonder what kind of precedent not voting sets for Americans of the future, and what kind of message it sends to our adversaries all over the world on the state of our democracy, and its institutional viability for the future. Voting, in my opinion, shouldn’t be exciting- it was never meant to be. It is our sacred obligation as members of this society who benefit from its blessings every single day. In an election where the stakes are as high as this, it is a responsibility that is too important to disregard. America’s greatness derives entirely from the will of its people, and it is time that young people wake up to the importance of their responsibility to this country and its democracy. On top of all of this, if you still believe that you really cannot delineate between President Biden and former President Trump, I’d remind you that you can always write in whoever you want.
Featured image courtesy of Western Mass News
Leave a Reply