Apathy is defined by Merriam-Webster's online dictionary as a "lack of interest or concern." People can be apathetic about many things. Personally, I’m apathetic about video games. I could care less about what trigger buttons do what thing, and when people talk about video games, I have a tendency to zone out. Don't get me wrong, I can tolerate them, but it's more of a personal preference. I just don't care. Also, lots of men are apathetic about clothing. They really don't care what they wear as long as it keeps them warm or cool, given the temperature.
In America, it seems as if the fad has become "apathy towards the United States government." It's uncommon to find someone completely satisfied with the way that the government has been run for the last 7 years or so, and because of this dissatisfaction, people just seem not to care anymore. At all. In 2004, only a little more than 55% of the voting-age population even voted, and what's worse is that registration of voters didn't even make a big difference because just a little more than 60% of the voting eligible voted. http://elections.gmu.edu/turnout_rates_graph.htm
What does that tell me? That tells me that people don't care. People are unwilling to take enough time out of their day to hit up a poll before 7:00 pm. I can understand if you are busy or what not, but realistically, almost everyone has an hour to vote.
Currently, I am an out-of-state college student lacking in funds, and I voted in the 2008 primary. I faxed in my absentee ballot application (it took me 10 minutes), received it in the mail, filled it out with my witness (another 10 minutes tops), and I EXPRESS MAILED it. I should have applied for it at an earlier date, but honestly, at least I did it.
We, the 18-22 year olds of America, have a chance to change the world this election. Regardless of if we vote Republican or Democrat, that's not the point. We are first time Presidential Election voters. We make a difference now.
It's sad though, that even with this voter apathy that is taking over our nation, few hesitate to criticize the government. Frankly, I say if you are eligible to vote and do not do so, you don't deserve to criticize our government. You have a chance to elect the legislators from your area. You have a chance to elect the President of the United States, and frankly, you have a responsibility to your fellow American's to vote for the person to best unite our nation.
You might want to take into account the actual candidates that ran in the 2004 election. Not very inspiring to think your choices were re-electing President Bush or voting for a media designated "flip-flopper" who looked and sounded like Lurch from the Adams Family.
Now I know that voter turnout has been down in the past few elections, but people have been turning out in records numbers for the Democratic primaries, which I think bodes well for the 2008 presidential election.
Common sense is as rare as genius. ~Emerson
My Latest Blog Posts
Oh I totally agree, I think that having to vote for "the lesser of two evils" is never a good thing. But who knows? People are STILL criticizing Bush, but they didn't take their government into their own hands. Why not make that vote for the "lesser of two evils". It's just sad how much people don't care.
-- Amber
My point is that for the 2004 election, there was a pretty legit reason for the lack of voter turnout, but I think it will be different with this election because people are inspired by the choice they have for the Democratic candidate and the general election.
Common sense is as rare as genius. ~Emerson
My Latest Blog Posts
I totally agree with what your saying. I've noticed how the ones who critize the most are the ones who never seem to vote. People don't want to be bothered with taking the time to vote but like to complain about who was elected.