America -- What was Your Excuse for Not Voting?

Shockingly, on Election Day 2015, only 20% of Long Islanders showed up at the voting booths, mirroring the low voter turnout across our nation; but, honestly, Long Island’s record low participation in the democratic process this year was downright – shameful.

In response to this dire situation, Newsday ran an article citing the myriad of reasons Long Islanders gave for not voting, which basically boiled down to two things: firstly, the local electorate was fed up with corruption, and secondly, they are sick and tired of partisan gridlock. OK, I hear you, but this is nothing new. This is the way it was, is, and probably always will be, but the low voting numbers reveal a populace with an apathetic, lackadaisical, laissez-faire attitude, who are fast forgetting that the right to vote didn’t come easy for everyone.

Are we, as new millennium people, in need of a refresher course in 20th Century American history? Do we dare forget that less than a hundred years ago, in 1917, Women’s suffragists paraded down the streets of in New York City, carrying placards with signatures of more than a million women who were anxiously awaiting the right to vote?It wasn’t until 1920, with the passing of the 19th Amendment, that this unalienable right became a reality for American women. Must I remind you that in 1965, in a day now referred to as Bloody Sunday, more than 500 non-violent civil rights activists were violently attacked by law enforcement officers, who charged at them on horseback, using tear gas and brutal force in an attempt to stop their march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to demand African American voting rights? Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King, Jr. must be rolling in their graves today, over the fact that a right they fought so hard for -- for you, for me, for us, is being cast aside so cavalierly.

My own theory as to another reason why are polling numbers are getting lower and lower each year, is the sad truth that the WW II generation is dying off. Those of us, who are baby boomers, remember that Election Day was always a big deal when we were growing up in the sixties in the suburbs of Long Island. We wore buttons supporting the candidate of our choice, and we waited in long lines with our parents, as they proudly exercised their right to vote. I never thought I’d live to say this, but maybe we really do need to be just a little more like that generation, when it comes to things like civil duties and responsibilities.

Americans do your homework. Research your candidates, and if you don’t like any of the candidates who are running for a particular office, then leave that space blank, but show up. If you truly believe, that all politicians are crooks; therefore, you’re not going to vote, then don’t bitch about how bad things are: you gave up that right by not voting. If good people stop voting, then evil wins, and you become part of the problem and not part of the solution. Please take a moment to ruminate on this: in 1932, Hitler won the election in Germany with just 33% of the vote. In America, with so few voting, a madman can win any election by a single digit percentage point. That reality should horrify you. It certainly horrifies me.

Sometimes in life, we just have to show-up and be counted. For the upcoming presidential election year, my slogan, and I’m sticking to it, is: Show up or shut up!

Cindi Sansone-Braff, The Romance Whisperer, talks to the dead to show you how to live well and love better. She is the author of Grant Me a Higher Love and Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships. Free excerpts of these books are available on Amazon. She has also been featured as a relationship expert in: the Huffington Post, YourTango, Bustle.Com, and the Deseret News. Call-in or listen every Thursday night, 7:00 pm EST, to her radio show, where you can get free psychic and relationship advice: www.blogtalkradio.com/higher-love. Be sure to check out her web site at: www.grantmeahigherlove.com. She was named Best Psychic five years in a row by the Long Island Press, recommended by Newsday as one of the best psychic/mediums on Long Island, featured in the Daily News and Cablevision’s Neighborhood Journal. Visit her Facebook Page: Why Good People Can’t Leave Bad Relationships.