Lost and Found

"I am not voting, I don't care..."
"I am not voting, what does it matter..."
"I am not voting, I am not registered..."
"I am not vointg, my vote doesn't matter anyhow!"
"I am not voting, no parties are worth it..."
"I am not voting... I don't know how and its an inconvience..."

How many times have I heard this from people I know. How many times have you heard this from people you might know? There is a mass of people in this country that live under the idea that voting is not worth the effort or the time. The number of bogus reasons that I hear blows me away. I don't flog my opinion on who to vote for to these people, but I do try to explain that every vote counts.
Non voting is like a virus... first 1 person doesn't vote... then another... then another... spreading from person to person. By the time the stats come in after each election there is a sharp ratio between the population of this country and the number of people who cast their votes.
In the end, it speaks loudly of the people who voice an opinion on the future of this country and those who are just happy enough to live here.
What gets my goat though is when I listen to some one who has a venoment opinion on the policies of a government in power or a party that is in this election, yet when asked has either not voted or is planning not to vote (with one of the lame excuses above). To these people I now say... you didn't express this opinion when it mattered most, when it would have made a difference no matter how small. Bottom line to me is, if you do not vote or spoil a vote, then you do not have the right to complain about the results of an election or a government in power. You didn't voice your opinion when it counted, so don't waste peoples time with your opinion now.