“One vote can change the world”
One vote does make a difference; it is the difference between one win and loss; it has the power to bring about a change for the betterment of all. We all will certainly agree today that democracy is the best form of government as it gives us a chance to voice our opinions.
Voting is an opportunity for us to elect a leader who we think is the best suitable to lead our country.
Voting is a right given to us by the constitution, under which any individual of 18 years and above is capable of exercising his/her right to vote. Being responsible citizens of our country, voting is our responsibility.
As Aristotle once mentioned, “Man is by nature a social animal,” so to survive in today’s time, we cannot stay aloof from any domain of life, be it political or social. Being a part of society, we need to take part in voting as it gives us a chance to share our suggestions and bring changes in society.
In today’s time, voting is a privilege for us. If we talk about the history of voting earlier, it was considered a privilege given only to the rich, elite class of the society; in most of the country’s women were not given the right to vote. It was not until they fought for it and got this right that we today exercise freely.
The first democracy of the world, the United States of America, started giving voting rights in 1789. In the late 1800s, women started suffrage to get equal rights, and by the mid-1900’s they got this right, also so-called privilege earlier. But we are fortunate that India got independence in 1947, and after that, in 1950, both men and women were given equal voting rights irrespective of any differences. In all, it has been a long battle for people all around the world to get this privilege, right, and responsibility of voting. We all must exercise this right.
Be it any country, one common thing everywhere is that we will find people criticizing the government, which is necessary for any government to function properly. But instead of just criticizing, we need to go and exercise our right to vote too. It is generally seen that the people who don’t go to vote think it is a waste of time. What difference will this one vote make? But the reality is that every single vote counts and can create a difference.
The newly available option of NOTA – none of the above is a great feature of democracy. It gives us a chance not to elect any person if we do not like any person contesting for the election, and if NOTA is half then elections have to be conducted again. Our country is the world’s largest democracy and a developing country. We are moving towards a multi-polar world where each and every country has a major role to play, and recently India became a non-permanent member of UNSC for 2 years which is indeed a great accomplishment.
A democratic government’s biggest asset is that the government is formed by the people, for the people, and of the people, and if people want, they can remove the government every 5 years by casting the votes. Voting is indeed the greatest asset for the common people. As educated, responsible citizens, we must learn the value of votes and vote to the person who is actually deserving and can help the country as a whole by uplifting it.
Recently the whole world witnessed the U.S.A election; it turns out that the world’s first democracy is not democratic enough. There are threats to its democracy too, but thanks to the right to vote, a privilege, and a responsibility that people got respite from all the troubles. So, we must try to make people aware of the importance of voting and what value each vote contains.
Next time you see someone cribbing about government policies and criticizing them, ask them if they exercise their right to vote? And if they did not, they have no right to criticize them. Remember getting independence wasn’t easy, so many people fought bravely, laid down their lives, and after all that, we are here today. Even if after 74 years of independence, if we do not exercise our right to vote, what good use are we to our country?
