Why are you voting?

Three Venus Zine contributors share their views on the most important Tuesday of the year

By Lauren Johnson
Published: November 4th, 2008 | 10:10am

On the surface, I'm a born skeptic. Santa Claus? I figured him out at six. Religion didn't hold much truck with me once I figured out the Bible omitted what happened to Jesus during the first 32 years or so he walked the earth. It seemed like adults liked to pull the wool over children's eyes early and often.

But there was one institution I could get behind: Democracy. I figured out which political school of thought I believed in at ten during an episode of Donahue and I've never looked back.

I stepped behind the red, white, and blue curtain eight years later for a spring election where the biggest race was for the director of Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction. Casting my ballot for the first time was one of the few satisfying aspects of coming of age.

I'm no longer a starry-eyed kid about American Politics, but I still love voting. Why? Even though the nation's problems have not rung my doorbell, I have to say something about what's happening to the land that I love. If I stay silent, if you say silent, strangers in Washington think that we're okay with fiscal collapse, war, intolerance, and all around poor treatment of our fellow citizens. I have to stand up for myself and I want you to join me.

All it takes is a few minutes behind a red, white, and blue curtain.

Tori Rosin wishes to co-op Gandhi here and remind everyone you are the change you want to seek in the world. She lives outside of Chicago.

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America is currently in a state of disarray unfamiliar to many of its current citizens. It is our responsibility to take responsibility for this by electing people we feel can pick up the pieces and reassemble the America of 8+ years ago. In this election I have taken a special interest in the social and economic issues being discussed by both candidates. As we are on the brink of what is being described as the 'Second Great Depression', I find myself worrying more about getting a job after college than anything else these days! Also, it is appalling to me that after so long, America still finds itself debating social issues that blatantly restrict the rights of several groups of people. Because of this, I fully intend to support Barack Obama and the Democratic party on Election Day. The only thing a McCain/Palin ticket is good for are the ratings on SNL.

Kathleen Keish is a Venus Zine contributor. She is excited to cast her first vote EVER for Barack Obama at the former Athens Lunatic Asylym in Athens, Ohio. If he doesn't win, she intends on checking herself in.

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Up until eight years ago, I thought that every vote counted. Then Gore vs. Bush schooled me on the electoral college and changed my views for a short while.

Living in Chicago (likely the bluest of blue on any voting map), I've heard many disenfranchised voters complain about how our vote doesn't count because Illinois will go blue anyway. But the color of the state is not the reason why I vote. I vote to know that I stood up for something that I believe in, that I took the time out of my day to stand in line to do so, and that I was part of a process bigger than myself.

My vote counts, not just as a hash mark in a column — it counts to me and my pride in fulfilling my civic duty.

Lauren Johnson is Venus Zine's Culture & DIY web editor. She can't wait to stay up all night flipping between five different news channels, bathing in election coverage overload.