I've been struggling against the Right for months now, and I'm already feeling burnt out by all the hate and subterfuge. While it would be enormously fulfilling to me to find my words having an affect on a single, solitary conservative, I am convinced that day will not come. If I might use a regional metaphor, we are the coast of Southern California fighting against The Wedge of the Right Wing. The Pacific may be vast, but those who spend their entire days railing against positive human progress are the most entrenched of radicals. They will never be turned, but... you might find this amazing, they don't need to turn.

We simply need to vote.

It doesn't matter what the issues are, who the candidates are, which side you're on, what you believe, where you are from, whether you're a veteran, were born here, or became a citizen after immigrating. It is our right, our duty, as citizens of the United States of America, to vote for our government. It is our duty to determine the path of our country and who should lead us there to make it happen. The only thing that matters is that we do it as a nation, together, regardless of ideology or where we land on the spectrum.

We simply need to vote.

Right now, our country is represented by a small percentage of Americans, and those interests don't necessarily reflect the interests of America as a whole. In reality, we don't even know what America wants. Little more than half of us vote to select a President, and the turnout is far smaller in the mid-terms. That means roughly 40-60% of America decides what America looks like, how criminals are treated, what happens to big corporations when they break the law, how poor people are helped, how much workers should be paid, what taxes are fair, who we go to war with, and much more. If we want those things to change...

We simply need to vote.

From here on out, that's all I'm going to talk about in relation to politics. I may personally support Bernie and hope and pray that our country just gives a damn about people again sometime soon, but for purposes of politics, I will remain neutral. My aim, my goal, my aspiration is to simply get people to vote. I don't care what party you align with, your politics or beliefs or associations. I just care that you go to the polls this November 8th and vote. Vote for your country. Vote for your conscience. Vote for your family and friends. Vote for a better world, whatever that might be.

It only takes an hour or two every two years.