Voting

I have never exercised my right to vote in the United States of America.

I am deeply ashamed of this. I can think up a lot of excuses as to why I didn't vote - I was never registered in Illinois (I hung on to my Maryland driver's license the entire time I lived in Chicago), my vote would've meant little in a state that is already very liberal and was voting for its own Senator into the White House - but the truth is I was lazy and unmotivated to participate in our election process. There are only a handful of moments I truly, 100% regret in my life, and throwing away two opportunities to vote is definitely in that handful. 

I'm happy to say that my voting dry-streak will end this year. I have been following the 2016 election more closely than ever - tuning into debates, donating to campaigns, and making hella sure that I am registered to vote at the Colorado DMV. I have also been learning about the intricacies of how caucuses and primaries and delegates and the electoral college work. My conclusion: the election system in the United States is like a complicated board game that someone made up, Ben-Wyatt-The-Cones-of-Dunshire-style. Everyone agrees it's stupidly arcane but we seem powerless to change it. Why is that?

The candidate that I support the most right now is Bernie Sanders. Even though he and Hillary share many of the same stances, I feel that he is more trustworthy because his funding comes from millions of individuals, not individual super PACs with millions. I also feel that Bernie is more authentic in his views and has remained steadfast in them over his long tenure as a senator (with a notable exception in his views towards gun control), whereas Hillary panders to the masses and seems to go with whatever is the opinion du jour.

Then again, I don't think Bernie is the be-all, end-all candidate. I prefer him to Hillary, but if he doesn't win the nomination, I will vote for Hillary. I want to remember that the media and news sources I consume, which are very Bernie-weighted (I'm looking at you, Reddit), tend to sensationalize the little details and promote divisive opinions. Bernie the socialist. Hillary's e-mail scandal. Carson the nut job. Trump the fascist. 

I want to make sure that all of my friends and family who are eligible to vote will be casting their ballots this year, especially those who might feel the way I did the way I once did, that my vote didn't matter. Yesterday's Iowa's caucus showed us that it's an exciting time for the Democrats and I can't wait to see how things unfold in the coming months.