Decisions, Decisions

By: Chelse Melina
Posted In: Opinion

There are a lot of choices out there: Marc Jacobs or Louis Vuitton, Atkins or South Beach, Ford or Chevy, Corona or Sam Adams, CSI or Law and Order. Every day, circumstances arise which require you to make decisions. More likely than not, however, these decisions won’t matter four years down the road. In fact, they probably won’t matter next week. Whether you chose Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia or New York Super Fudge will not determine whether you make it or break it in life.

However, there is a choice that you can make today that will matter four years down the pike. A choice that may, perhaps, put a little extra cash in your pocket or that may allow you to freely marry whomever your heart falls in love with, no matter what their sex. Today, you can choose to vote.

As young adults, college aged Americans are often misled to believe that their single vote doesn’t count. Perhaps this is why a mere 32.3% of the 18-24 year-old registered voters voted in the November 2000 Presidential Election, which is not saying a whole lot – only 45.5% of the whole 18-24 year-old population was registered to vote.

Do young adults choose not to vote because they feel they are already so deep in a financial hole, nothing, not even new ideas in office, can help them out of their monetary despair? According to Rock the Vote, the average credit card debt among 18-29 year-olds has risen a whopping 55%, reaching an average $3,838.

Or perhaps young adults are so overwhelmed with the bleak job market, they feel they’ll be stuck waiting tables at Olive Garden, way over-qualified with a double major degree. Statistics show that one sixth of young adults are unemployed.

All of these concerns are very real. However, with your vote and your say in the 2004 Presidential Election, things could get turned around.

As we saw in the infamous 2000 Presidential Election and Florida’s dilemma with the Butterfly Ballot, every single vote does count. Your vote is counted and your voice is heard.

Also, consider that $1,500 VISA bill that keeps growing every month as interest climbs. Imagine if the President cut taxes, allowing a little more money at the end of the year, which would enable you to pay off a few months late bills. The decisions made in office directly affect you. Shouldn’t you have a say in who makes these decisions?

True, the job market is scary. Experienced professionals are having a tough time keeping their jobs, so fresh out of college grads have an even more difficult time. But, imagine a government which promised to protect you and your financial well-being while searching for the job of your dreams. A government which had your best interest in mind. Your vote could be the deciding factor.

It would take a half an hour, tops, to have your voice heard, which is counting from the second you leave your house to the second you get back home. A half hour is equivalent to one episode of The Real World, maybe two chapters in a good book, one trip to Blockbuster.

Choose to be heard. Choose to vote. What’s there to loose?