Staff editorial |
In general, young people seem to wildly underestimate their power. They don’t vote because they don’t think their voices will be heard. They don’t get involved because they don’t think it will have an impact. We, the Ranger Staff, feel that this is exactly why you should get involved.
One of the things you hear most when elections roll around are the phrases, “My vote doesn’t matter,” or, “My vote won’t count for anything anyway.” The only way your vote won’t count is if you don’t cast it — and that’s on you.
Local elections also tend to scare people off, people seem to think local elections don’t matter as much as national elections and therefore don’t pay attention to what’s going on. In reality, local elections are just as, if not more, important than national elections. Change has to start small, and that means paying attention to the details.
Voting can prove to be incredibly important, but we can’t just rely on the officials we elect to create the world we want. We have to act. We often worry that we aren’t taken seriously, or that we can’t have a real, lasting impact on the world around us. Truthfully, now is the best time to act.
The world is full of people making it worse, purposefully and accidentally. If you have any sort of idea, theory or suggestion that could make your community a better place, you owe it to yourself and the people around you to at least try to do something about it.
The only way to keep your voice from being heard is to never speak up. If you really want to make a difference, you have to fight for what you believe in. If you don’t defend your beliefs and actions, who will?
We have one shot at life on this one planet, and a wildly unpredictable future ahead of each of us. We have to make the best of the time we have. What better time to start than now?
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