With the primary elections taking place on Tuesday, voting is on most people’s minds, including mine.

It always astounds me that some people take the action of voting so lightly – like it’s not a big deal. Voting is a very important part of the American way of life. It’s one of the things that separates us from communist countries where the citizens don’t have a say in who is elected to represent them.

Voting is a way to have your voice heard, no matter how small you think your voice is in the grand scheme of things.

Voting is a way to bring about change and make things better.

Voting is a way to keep this country and its leaders in check.

By not voting, you throw away all these essential elements that make this country tick and, in my opinion, you are no better off than the people in office who everyone wants to throw out.If you don’t vote and make your voice and your opinion known, you have no right to complain about the way things are.

Don’t like higher taxes? Too bad. You did nothing to try to change it.

Don’t like funding for schools being cut? Too bad. You did nothing to try to elect people who would help the schools stay afloat.

Don’t like jobs being outsourced to foreign countries? Too bad. The candidate who wanted to change that wasn’t voted into office because people like you couldn’t find 10 minutes to go to the polls and vote.

Many people use the excuse that their vote is only one vote in a sea of millions so what does it really matter? But what if everyone had this mentality? Your vote matters and your vote should be heard.

I think Robert F. Kennedy said it best when he said, “Each time someone stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”

No matter how small you think it might be, it’s those ripples that can turn into big waves of change.

I, for one, am proud to live in the land of the free where I am afforded the right (thanks to many men and women throughout the years who died for me to have this right) to have my opinions known, and I believe it’s disrespectful to the memory of those people to sit at home and do nothing with a gift they gave their life to give you.

So this Tuesday, take action, take part and take a stand by going to vote.