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Why Am I Voting?
For starters, I am a Democracy In Action Fellow with Mississippi Votes and it is very hypocritical to register people to vote and not vote myself. Aside from this, I vote because if I were born a few decades earlier, I wouldn’t have the right of suffrage.
I vote because my ancestors hoped to. Despite what people may think, voting is a way to voice your needs in society. African American activists wouldn’t have been beaten, abused, assaulted, and murdered if voting wasn’t important. Exploits like gerrymandering, which greatly affects Mississippi, wouldn’t have to be used if voting wasn’t so important.
Individuals are elected into political position to act as representatives and advocates of their constituency, and I refuse for someone who doesn’t care about the needs of the people to be elected. Now, this isn’t to say that your choice for governor, president, senator, or other elected positions will be chosen with certainty, but executing your right to vote and encouraging others undoubtedly creates change.
Why It’s important
Voting is what makes democracy — everybody has a voice. It is one of those things that prompts the phrase “stop complaining about it if you aren’t going to fix it.” I grow tired of hearing people complain about the state of local, state, and federal government while making no efforts to change anything.
I’m sure you’ve seen the political posts in Instagram and Facebook about the upcoming governor elections. While social media advocacy is an amazing way to spread awareness, using that momentum to push people to the polls brings life to the needs of the people. Seeing as though we are on a campus, it is especially important to get students to the poll is important because some of the most powerful movements have been led by young people.
What I Want To See in Mississippi
I want to see Mississippi be the place it has the potential to be. I desire to see accessible healthcare and mental health facilities, public school systems that continue to improve, and acknowledgement of the past with solutions for the future.
Some of the best writers, scholars and creative minds have been birthed out of Mississippi but despite this, we have a large issue with brain drain. Brain drain is the movement of intelligent and educated people to another place.
After college, many individuals are faced with the dilemma of staying to help change Mississippi for the better or leaving and creating a life somewhere else. According to Mississippi Public Broadcasting Mississippi had a 0.7% decrease in population from 2020 to 2022.
It can be daunting to live in a place where people expect you to spend your entire life trying to change for the better. Leaving Mississippi gives some the opportunity to advance their careers or get higher paying jobs.
Today, exercise your right to vote if you are able to and go make a difference in our state. If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.
Bre’Anna Coleman is a junior political science major from Drew, Miss.
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