I’ve noticed something interesting happening in my Facebook feed lately: People who usually don’t discuss politics are going there. Big time. And the folks who do commonly discuss politics are RAGING.

I like seeing people get fired up. I enjoy seeing the people I care about passionately express their views. Even when I don’t agree with them.

I have a lot of Facebook friends who are conservative, who are Christian. I might not hang out with them on a regular basis, but they are people I like and respect. I am not Christian and I consider myself liberal, but contrary to what you may think, I do have quite a bit in common with those friends. We all believe in a higher power, we believe in showing kindness and love to others. We understand that it takes all kinds of people to make the world go round.

I usually don’t chime in on political discussions on social media because I don’t want to argue. I once ended up in a heated debate with a friend of a friend over the use of antibiotics so I can imagine how I might get if the subject was a bit more “touchy.” Occasionally I’ll comment on a discussion, but for the most part I read what other people write and process that on my own.

Over the last couple weeks I’ve seen a comment more than once that has struck fear in my heart and made me realize I need to speak out. The comment went along the lines of “I’m disgusted with all of the candidates so I’m not going to vote,” and was followed by a “Me too” and a “Me three” and so on. These particular folks were discussing the Republican candidates so I can feel their pain, however I don’t think not voting is a solution.

I didn’t say that on my friend’s post. Now I wish I had, but it seems creepy to scroll back three weeks and comment. I saw similar posts from other friends, including comments about the Democratic candidates. I’ve had a real life discussion with an acquaintance who admitted apathetically “Oh I don’t know that I’ll even vote. I don’t know enough about what’s going on.”

I didn’t speak up to any of those people. I’m going to blame it on the fact that I’m a writer! I function better when I can take time to process my thoughts and express myself in writing. So here it goes:

Come on people, get your shit together and vote. If you’re disgusted with all the candidates, write in the one you think would do the best job. If you “don’t know what’s going on,” educate yourself. Every candidate has a website, go to it and read their positions on the issues. Do research. If you don’t vote, you’re perpetuating the problems.

The reason it’s easier to be apathetic is because otherwise you need to look inside yourself and say “How do I truly feel about this particular issue (abortion, healthcare, war, drones, gun laws, etc,) and which candidate is closest aligned to my view?” It’s not easy, and I know I haven’t done it about every issue but I took some time to look and said “Okay, now I know what they stand for so I’ll think on it.” 

Apathy is not the answer. Throwing your hands up and saying “Everybody sucks” doesn’t change anything. I’ve realized that my saying “I’m going to stay quiet and not give my opinion” is a different version of that. So let’s talk about it.