By Christie Ann Reynolds
Twenty-two million unmarried women did not vote in the last election. Twenty-two million unmarried women, who were registered, did not vote for the one person running their country. Perhaps they thought that because they didn’t have children, the President’s decisions would not affect their lives. Perhaps they all figured they’d belong to the minority of women who decided they were too busy, did not care or used the excuse of not knowing who to vote for.
Did you ever hear the fairy tale story where the king requested that all the farmers of the wineries bring a glass full of their own wine to make what he thought would be the finest wine? Instead, each farmer decided they were going to bring a carafe of water so they did not have to waste wine on the king. However, everyone had this same idea and the entire combined bottle was filled with water and not one glass of wine. Well this is the United States. Everyone thinks that everyone else is going to fill in where they choose not to. We are all very quick to protect our individualism yet our society thrives on a dependency we don’t recognize as a “dependency.” When all these women decided they weren’t going to vote, they gave up their choice to someone else. They let someone else choose who to decide. We are all given the right to vote in order to create “the finest wine.” Instead, effort is minimal and our individual selfishness or idleness creates one big bottle of water instead of wine.
All these unmarried women would never allow someone else to choose their place of employment, what car they drove, who they married or what to study in college. What needs to be addressed here is the fact that most of these unmarried women who didn’t vote were most likely in college or graduating high school. These women are the ones who should be exercising their vote because during the next span of years they may be married, have children and careers. It isn’t comforting to think that people will only care when they realize that the person in power is not the person they want governing them.
Maybe American politics are too confusing and wrought with inconsistencies the average unmarried woman would rather not bother with or understand. But we were only able to vote in 1920, ladies! Not even 100 years ago! It took 70 years of campaigning and diligence to even get there. Women in Kuwait still do not have the right to vote. They can’t even stand for election. The Parliament in the United Arab Emirates is appointed and neither men nor women have the right to vote. South African black women could not vote until 1994. That’s only 10 years ago. Yet all our women have had 84 years to make a decision and when we finally can, 22 million of us had something better to do.
I don’t watch every single debate and I don’t march in every march there is. I have to admit that before I was 18, I did not take the most active interest in politics. There are many of you that have done the same. However, most of us here at Hofstra and most people our age are able to vote. Almost all of us are unmarried. Many of us receive financial aid or scholarships. We may serve in the army. Perhaps you are anti-choice or pro-choice. Maybe some of us believe that the U.S. shouldn’t help out other countries and other may think it’s a positive thing. I could go on and on with reasons someone may decide to take an active stance. The bottom line is there has to be something to vote for.
At this age, it is time to pay attention to what the hell is going on around you. You can’t live in some bubble where you believe that your vote isn’t going to count. If you aren’t going to vote for yourself, vote for your grandparents who receive social security or whose jobs are being taken away by company outsourcing in India. Vote for the overlooked and unfair rights of gays and lesbians. Vote because you can, because it matters and because no one wants to be part of a national statistic that makes unmarried women, let alone college students, appear ignorant and lazy. Vote because people in other places would literally die to be able to exercise the one right you take for granted.