Why Should I Vote?

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: When I reach eighteen, why should I bother to vote? Read Chuck Colson’s response below, taken from Answers to Your Kids' Questions: Our first civic duty is to vote. If you don’t vote, you are abandoning the biblical obligation to be a responsible citizen. A lot of people aren’t voting these days because they’ve become cynical, thinking all politicians are corrupt. But this is wrong. Most of the legislators I know are decent, honest people, and many truly love the Lord. Whether you choose to vote as a Democrat, Republican, or for a third party, you should look at one overriding criterion in candidates: character. Look for men and women who will stand up for righteousness, who will defend the helpless, especially the unborn. Men and women who will act with virtue and nobility, who will refuse to sell out their office for a mess of political porridge. America is a republic, not a pure democracy. In a republic we are to elect representatives who will rise above the passions of the moment. They are to be men and women of character and virtue, men and women who will act responsibly and even nobly as they carry out the best interests of the people. Because I am a convicted felon, I could not vote for many years. Take it from me, all you have to do is lose the right to vote once, and you would never again find any excuse for not going into the voting booth. We must never give up on the political process. America remains the greatest and most noble experiment in ordered liberty. If we lose it, it will be because we simply don’t care enough to do what we ought to do as citizens.

08/20/07