“I’m so tired of politics.” “I do my best to stay out of politics.” “I hate how everything is so political nowadays.” You may have heard a friend, family member, acquaintance, or random passerby utter one of these phrases at some point in your life. Given the fact that roughly 43 percent of eligible voters in the United States did not go to the polls on election day in 2016, according to The Washington Post, it’s more likely than not that you’ve heard all three. Perhaps you have used one of these phrases yourself or expressed similar opinions. The modern-day stigma surrounding the word “politics” is such a negative one that it’s hard to blame anyone who thinks this way. However, blaming and pointing fingers for “not caring enough” is not the intention of this article. My goal in writing this brief column is to challenge the assumption that the decisions being made by the people at the top in Washington, D.C. are not all that important. Politics are relevant to every one of us as American people, as compassionate neighbors, and as responsible citizens.

At one point during this summer, I was scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed when I came across a photo shared by a friend from a political page. The picture was an elderly woman holding a sign with two printed paragraphs, the first of which began by stating, “I want my friends to understand that ‘staying out of politics’ or being ‘sick of politics’ is privilege in action. Your privilege allows you to live a non-political existence.” This sentiment directly reflects my argument that we must care about politics as compassionate neighbors; any political decision directly affects somebody, even if, because of our own privilege, we ourselves are not directly affected. Our selected leaders in Washington are the ones making decisions that directly affect people both domestic and abroad who are less fortunate than us. Therefore, it is up to us to vote and elect leaders who will take the actions that we believe will best benefit those who are affected by our foreign policy decisions in other countries. Every time an American citizen who is eligible to vote does not do so, they are neglecting their ability to affect the outcome of an election, even if it is by just one vote.

The counterargument coming from many who claim to be tired of politics is the reality that their vote is just one of many. They insist their ballot is insignificant because it does not have the power to change the outcome of the election even if they were to put in the effort to go to the polls. I would disagree with this assertion by pointing to the fact that in late 2017, an election was held in Virginia’s 94th District which would ultimately determine whether Virginia’s House of Delegates would have a power balance of 50-50 for the first time in seventeen years, according to the Daily Press. This election race ended in a tie, with each candidate receiving 11,607 votes, and was decided through a lottery draw, which ultimately resulted in Republicans keeping control of the majority. Several other recent elections have resulted in recounts be- cause the result was too close to definitively determine the outcome.

I could write a book on why I believe everyone should care more about politics, but since I am limited to 600 words, these are just a few of my ideas that capture the essence of my argument. I hope these few paragraphs have encouraged you to consider being more politically involved and to urge others to do the same.