Charles Petersen Liberty for All? The United States is supposed to be a people's government but when some people cease to vote it starts being a government only of the people who feel very strongly about an issue. Thomas Jefferson said in the Declaration of Independence, "We are endowed by [our] creator with certain unalienable rights: that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." These are the basic privileges and rights that we depend on. A vote is our liberty, it allows us to live our lives as we see fit and a vote is our voice in how we are allowed to pursue what we see as happiness. If I do not vote I am giving up my fundamental rights and am letting others decide what is right for me. Sometimes I think about voting and think, "How can one vote do anything." Then I realize that if I think that way, and others think that way, then it's more than one vote, it's thousands maybe even millions of votes. Getting the right to vote is telling a person that their peers see him/her as ready to take responsibility for their actions and to make proper decisions for themselves. If you don't show that you can listen to other's opinions and research the different candidates and proposals you probably shouldn't be voting. I'm sure that when I get the right to vote it will be very important to me. A vote is giving me the chance to make my own decisions and voice my opinion with others respectively. When a person is convicted of a felony their right to vote is taken away. This tells me that a vote is held above almost everything in our society. A vote is the thing that lets you express your personal opinion. Nobody can tell you that you can't vote, whom you have to vote for or whether or not you should vote; it's all your decision. One vote can make a difference.