My Experiences as a Reluctant Voter

You know when people tell you how important it is to vote in elections, and to use your voice to make a difference, and that our forebears strove against the odds to give us the right to have our say?

I have a confession to make. There was a time when I completely ignored these comments. But no more, for I am an active voter now.

I've reached a point where I describe myself as a reluctant voter, where once I was a complete non-voter. Those of you who are politically aware and engaged probably wonder why. The simple reason is that I didn't see the point. I felt that I, as a single individual, was completely anonymous and powerless in a world of experienced heavyweights, who were far more opinionated, articulate and harder to intimidate than me. Leaving the votes to them seemed like a good way to go.

For a large part of my life, no party and no candidate appealed to me. I felt that there was nothing special or unique about any party, or indeed about my own opinion about any of them, largely because I didn't have any real opinion either way. I'd witnessed such despair from the hard-bitten cynics who believed that all politicians are the same, and that none of them care about the people.

I can see now how needlessly apathetic and narrow-minded this view is. It's true that many parties and their representatives care more about getting voted for than about earning those votes, or looking after the people who vote for them. Over the years, and seeing the ruinous effect of this lack of care from elected leaders, I felt angry and embittered towards these supposed leaders for their lack of leadership, and struggled to see the point in voting for this reason.

Now, I see the point. The only way to get through to these politicos is to use the vote they crave so desperately. The argument to use my voice, rather than risk losing it through apathy, at last makes sense to me. I might only be one, small person, whose opinion counts for very little, but at the end of the day, I count just as much as anyone else, and I have just as much value as they do. I'll be darned if I don't use my vote to make a difference, however tiny that difference might be.

Essentially, doing a small something is better than not bothering to do anything. Using your voice to express your anger and dissatisfaction is always better than complicit silence. Even if casting a vote doesn't get the result you want, it's always better to take action than to sit in the pointless nothingness of inactivity.

That's why I vote. I don't always like it or enjoy it, but it's necessary. To live is to take an active, thorough part in life, even if it doesn't go the way you expect. Speaking your mind, and doing something about what you see, is what qualifies us for a place in humanity.

My actions might be tiny, and they might be mistaken, but they're actions, and they're mine. And that applies to my vote in the UK General Election, 04/07/2024. Nobody can ever really know what their votes will lead to, including me, but we still take action, because we know it's the right thing to do.