Columnists, EDITORIAL -- FEATURE SPOT, Editorials, Kellie Singleton, Opinion
 By  Kellie Singleton Published 
6:00 am Saturday, March 10, 2012

Voting is a way to have your voice heard

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.

Also on Franklin County Times
Ex-day care owner faces 27-count indictment
Main, News, Russellville
Kevin Taylor For the FCT 
October 15, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — The former owner of a Red Bay day care center where a 4-month-old died in March 2022 is now facing a manslaughter charge after a Frankl...
AI policies stress proper use over prohibition
Main, News
Alyssa Sutherland For the FCT 
October 15, 2025
Sheffield City Schools’ policy regarding student use of artificial intelligence (AI) at the start of the 2025-26 school year limited the use of the so...
Faith, family and resilience are keys to cancer survival
Main, News, Phil Campbell, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 15, 2025
PHIL CAMPBELL — Ten years ago, Melissa Stancil faced a diagnosis that changed her life. Today, she’s not only a survivor of Stage 3 breast cancer but ...
Gilmer fulfills dream competing on ‘Jeopardy!’
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 15, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Russellville native Slade Gilmer fulfilled a lifelong dream when he competed on “Jeopardy!” in an episode that aired Oct. 7. Gilmer liv...
Police among state’s first certified departments
News, Russellville, Z - News Main
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
October 15, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — The city’s Police Department is one of the first 12 departments to earn professional accreditation through the Alabama Association of C...
We must break China’s grip on defense supply chains
Columnists, Opinion
October 15, 2025
China’s Xi Jinping appeared supremely confident at a recent military parade in Beijing with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Xi’...
DKG international president visits Russellville
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
October 15, 2025
When educators gather, there’s always something to learn, and this month our local Delta Kappa Gamma chapter, Alpha Upsilon, heard directly from the t...
More than laughs: Improvising for life’s situations
News
Chelsea Retherford For the FCT 
October 15, 2025
When most people hear the word “improv,” they might think of the quickwitted antics of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” But David Grissom, a veteran comedy ...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *