Vote!

I realized something today that I’ve never really thought about before.

I turned 18 in 1975.

I registered to vote.

And I’ve been voting ever since.

Presidential elections.

Midterms.

State elections.

Local elections.

The glamorous ones and the boring ones.

For more than 50 years.

And here’s the interesting thing:

I’ve never thought that was special.

Nobody gives you a trophy.

Nobody calls you the next morning and says:

“John, congratulations. Outstanding voting yesterday.”

I just did it.

I’m a citizen.

I’m eligible to vote.

Of course I vote.

And suddenly I realized:

That’s what I’ve been trying to accomplish with the Truth Party.

I want millions of Americans to be able to say those same four words:

Of course I vote.

Not:

“I vote when I’m excited.”

Not:

“I vote when I like the candidates.”

Not:

“I vote when I’m pissed off.”

Not:

“I vote in presidential elections, but I don’t really pay attention to the other stuff.”

No.

Of course I vote.

Mayor?

Of course I vote.

City council?

Of course I vote.

Governor?

Of course I vote.

Congress?

Of course I vote.

President?

Hell yes, of course I vote.

Because voting shouldn’t be something extraordinary that citizens occasionally decide to do.

It should be a habit.

Like brushing your teeth.

You don’t wake up in the morning and say:

“You know, I’m really not inspired by either toothbrush today.”

You brush your damn teeth.

And here’s why I think this matters so much.

We’re constantly talking about what’s wrong with America.

Everybody’s got a list.

Government doesn’t listen.

Money has too much influence.

Politicians aren’t accountable.

People are divided.

Nobody trusts anybody.

Everything costs too much.

Healthcare is a mess.

Infrastructure needs work.

Education needs work.

Pick your issue.

And then somebody inevitably says:

“But what can I do about it?”

Well…

You can participate.

That’s the part I think we’ve forgotten.

Democracy isn’t a television show.

You’re not supposed to sit on the couch watching everybody else do it.

You’re actually in the show.

We’ve somehow turned millions of citizens into spectators.

We watch politics.

We complain about politics.

We post about politics.

We scream about politics.

We argue with strangers on Facebook about politics.

We’ll spend three hours typing:

“YOU’RE AN IDIOT!”

But somehow finding the time to vote is asking too much.

That’s backwards.

And this is what I’ve been learning through my hundred-person project.

I’ve been talking to people.

Not polling them.

Not trying to convince them.

Talking to them.

And once you peel away all the layers—the clothes, the age, the race, the politics, the neighborhood—you discover that people want remarkably similar things.

A safe place to live.

A decent job.

Affordable healthcare.

Good schools.

Opportunities for their children.

A little money left over at the end of the month.

Somebody to love.

A little peace.

Maybe a decent hamburger that doesn’t require a financing plan.

Pretty basic stuff.

And that’s what makes me so optimistic.

Because imagine what happens when those people actually participate.

Not half of them.

Not just the angry ones.

Not just the political junkies.

Everybody.

Imagine a country where voting participation becomes so normal that 80 or 90 percent of eligible citizens regularly show up.

Now something changes.

Because politicians have to start talking to a much bigger America.

They can’t simply energize one little corner.

They have to persuade people.

They have to listen.

They have to explain themselves.

And then after we elect them, our responsibility doesn’t end.

That’s another thing.

Voting isn’t citizenship.

Voting is part of citizenship.

Pay attention.

Ask questions.

Talk to your neighbors.

Learn about people who aren’t like you.

Understand the issues.

Vote.

Then hold the people you elected accountable.

And if they don’t do the job?

Vote again.

That’s the beauty of the whole damn thing.

We already possess the mechanism.

We’re always waiting for somebody to save us.

Some great leader.

Some new political party.

Some billionaire.

Some movement.

Some miracle.

Maybe we don’t need to be saved.

Maybe we need to participate.

I’ve spent more than 50 years taking voting for granted.

And I mean that in the best possible way.

I’ve taken for granted that I have a voice.

I’ve taken for granted that I have a responsibility.

I’ve taken for granted that when Election Day comes around…

I’m voting.

Period.

Now I want everybody to take that for granted.

Imagine a kid turning 18 and registering to vote with the same assumption I had:

“Of course I’m doing this.”

And then that kid votes at 18.

And 20.

And 22.

And 30.

And 50.

And 70.

Local elections.

National elections.

Every time.

Now multiply that by tens of millions of people.

That’s not Republican.

That’s not Democratic.

That’s not left.

That’s not right.

That’s citizenship.

And here’s the thing that excites me most.

We have an incredible opportunity sitting right in front of us.

We’ve got hundreds of millions of people with different experiences, different ideas and different solutions.

Let’s talk to each other.

Let’s listen to each other.

Let’s find the things we have in common.

Let’s get engaged.

Let’s participate.

And let’s vote.

I’ve spent more than half a century saying:

Of course I vote.

Now I want to hear an entire country say it.

Not because somebody frightened them.

Not because somebody shamed them.

Not because some celebrity told them to.

Because they’re citizens.

Because it’s their country.

Because it’s their voice.

Because it’s their right.

And because it’s their responsibility.

We’ve already got the opportunity.

We’ve already got the power.

We’ve already got the vote.

Let’s grab it.

And exercise the hell out of it.