I am begging you, please vote

Even if you 'don't like' politics, please spare me five minutes to read this. I have been wanting to always vote:

write this post for a while now. Now seemed very timely after the local election results of yesterday. Reports are suggesting just a 30% turnout to vote. Just 30% of people wanted to have a say on the people representing their local area? How can this be? Now is such a crucial time for us. Society is more divided than ever and the gap between the haves and the have-nots is only growing. This is a time for everyone to use their voice and yet more people are turning away from doing so. Here are five reasons I think you should:

1 - You can. What a simple one. What a beautiful thing to live in a democratic country and be able to take it totally for granted. We must never forget that around the world there are countries where people have no say in their future. People still fight and die to make their voices heard. Personally I never forget that just 100 years ago I would not have been allowed to vote. Women sacrificed and died to win me that right so how on earth could I not use it? What if our right to vote were taken away? Surely those same people that do not bother to vote now would be up in arms if someone told them they were not allowed to vote, but their next door neighbour still can. You do not believe your next door neighbour should have more of a say in the running of your country than you do you? Yet every time you do not vote you allow them that.

2 - You should care. I have to say this one drives me crazy. Heck, I even have a few friends that I have been trying to have a political rant with and they say something like 'I just don't really care about politics, it doesn't affect me'. Now look, I know I am an insufferable know-it-all a lot of the time and maybe they just don't want to get into it with me, but come on. You can't even care a little bit? We can talk about TV shows, music, selfies, anything but the state of society? Politics doesn't affect you? Do you use the NHS? Were you educated in a state school? Do you pay taxes? Politics affects everyone. This brings me nicely to my next point.....

3 - You are not an island. Being able to say that politics does not affect you is a sign of your

privilege. Politics does affect you, but if you don't realise it then it probably means you are not currently a marginalised group in society. Does it mean you shouldn't care? I don't have to go to a food bank because I can't afford to eat, but that doesn't mean it makes me any less angry that the number of people that do have to is growing. I can afford private healthcare, but it doesn't make me worry less for the people that rely on the NHS to save their lives on a daily basis. How did we become a society where so many people only care for themselves and what affects them? In my opinion this isolationism is the saddest thing about our current society. Sometimes people cannot speak for themselves and they need people in a position of greater power to do it for them.

4 - You do have the time. I am the sort of person that doesn't have time to go to the gym after work but I have time to come home, binge watch a few episodes of a TV series and eat a tub of ice cream. Let's be honest, it's not about having time, you do have the 30 minutes spare to drop by your local polling station. It's about whether you really want to. My friend had twin babies a few weeks before the EU referendum. She still drove to the polling booth with them and left her mum in the car while she went in to vote.  I was working in Ireland when that same vote took place, I went to the town hall before my trip to arrange for a friend to vote by proxy for me,Because it is important. It's more important than your gym class. It's more important than going to the pub. It's more important than taking a few selfies. It's a few minutes out of one day for a say in the future of your country. Get your priorities straight.

5 - You will regret it if you don't. Sounds a bit ominous, but I don't mean it in a 'or else' kind of way. I mean one day, the impact of what is happening in your country will affect you or someone you know. Maybe you will need hospital treatment, but cannot get it. Maybe your children will suffer the results of a failing education system. Maybe someone you know will be assaulted or subject to a hate crime. Then you will realise that everyone has a responsibility to speak up and act for a better society for everyone. You see, it is not pointless to vote. If every single person that could, got informed and voted, I believe we would live in a better world than we do right now. The thing with democracy is that everyone has a say. That includes racists, sexists, xenophobes et al. These kinds of people also feel way more strongly about voting than your average person. You can be sure the people with hateful views are in that polling booth - why aren't you?

I am sorry if this was preachy - any of my friends will tell you that's kind of my style. Try to look past that. The upcoming general election needs a big turn out. We need people to mobilise to prevent the rising tide of fascism that seems to be sweeping the West. If you don't like the major political parties then do your homework. The Green party made gains in this local election and have the potential to grow even more. There will be local independent candidates that may offer the policies you are most attracted to. Whatever you do, please vote. Please care - about yourself and about others.

Lastly, if my political posts annoy you. then please feel free to unfollow me. I am not going to stop caring just because you did.