We're all political, whether we vote or not.

We just went through an election -- a mid-term election (meaning the middle of the President's term in office) -- and many of us didn't bother to vote. What that means is that Senators and members of the House of Representatives were elected without lots of us our having anything to say about it.



Why is that important? To you? To me?



Because -- duh -- those men and women elected to to the House of Representatives and the Senate make the laws of our country.



Go back, if you can, to Civics class in high school. Granted, you may not have paid much attention to what your teacher was saying because you were too concerned about how you looked and whether so-and-so was going to ask you to the prom or at least for a date or if the coach was going to let you play next week. You were being taught, whether you got it or not, about how we have two Senators per state and any number of Representatives, based on your state's population. If you live in New York, you have a lot more representatives in the House than you have Senators. If you live in Wyoming, you have two Senators but only one Representative because your state doesn't have many people living in it.



Are you following me? If not, go back and read what I just wrote. I'm no political genius, but the math works: Two Senators times fifty states means a hundred Senators. The House can vary, depending on population, but it always has well over four hundred. (It may actually be capped at four hundred thirty five, but I'm not sure.)



Those are the elected officials who decide if we will pass a health care bill or authorize more money for overseas wars or cut taxes or raise taxes or let kids pray openly in schools or let women have abortions or allow us to carry a concealed weapon or . . . you name it. Anything you've ever gotten heated about in the past in arguments/discussions with your friends is decided by those men and women that you either voted for or didn't.



So what if you didn't vote? What if you said, "I'm not political" (and so never vote)?



Then your voice -- a tiny voice in the wilderness for sure, but maybe one of many-- is never heard. And you have to abide by whatever laws are passed, whether they're in your interest or not. You don't like what Congress -- the Senate and House combined -- has voted into law? Too bad. You're going to have to live with it.



Our system of government is based on the votes of the citizens. Make that the citizens who vote. Those who don't aren't counted, and their opinions go unheard.



Politics isn't an esoteric/odd/strange/weird field of study that only the smartest and nerdiest among us indulge in. It's actually very simple. It's all about how our government makes decisions about how to spend the taxes we pay.



Think of a household -- your own -- that brings in a certain amount of money every year. How is that money spent? On rent? On groceries? We hope so. What about the rest? That's where it gets tricky. The head of the household, the main wage-earner, exerts his/her rights. Dad's beer may trump daughter's soccer outfit; Mom's new dress may mean that son won't be getting that X-Box for Christmas. You don't like it? Tough. Families aren't democracies. But would it be better if they were? Hmmm . . .



Nations that embrace democracy -- one person, one vote -- risk having those who vote deciding against what may be in the best interests of us all. But it's our choice, as a people. If we vote in a President who pushes laws we don't agree with, all we have to do next time around is vote him out of office. But if we don't vote, if we say we aren't "political", and if there are enough of us so inclined, then he's likely going to be re-elected.



Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all the rest.



Our system -- again, one person, one vote -- is far from perfect, especially when many of us don't know what we're doing when we cast a vote. Wacko candidates win elections. Dangerous individuals are elected. People we thought we were dweebs back in high school are suddenly Representatives or even Senators. How did that happen?



I have had friends who told me they didn't vote last time around. "I just wasn't excited about either one." Hello? It's not about being excited. It's about putting someone in office who promotes and reflects your own values. We don't need our elected officals to be exciting. We need them to be bigger than themselves and their own egos, to go to bat for us in the halls of government where laws are made. The woman who was just running to become governor of California, and who spent an ungodly amount of her own money trying, admitted that she hadn't voted in a while. She was defeated, and rightfully so.



We are all political because those who are elected to represent us -- be they Representatives or Senators or our state legislators or city council members -- decide for us how that "family" money is going to be spent. You can tuck yourself into a shell and say it doesn't matter, but, believe me, it does. If you vote or if you don't vote, someone is going to be making decisions that will impact you.

You are political just because you're human. Living in a democracy means that no one can kill you, legally, because of your political beliefs. If you choose to have none, that's your right. If you decide not to vote, so be it. You've made a political statement. You've said, "I'm okay with what most of the others decide."

Just don't come bitching to me later about how the government has let you down.