Column: Why you should vote

Voting is important. If a person does not vote they are giving away their right to stand up and speak for the issues that are relevant to them.

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Elections are determined by the people that show up and vote. For me, voting is my voice. I value my right to vote because I know how important it is. Growing up as a Vietnamese-American I heard many stories about my grandparents’ escape to America after The Fall of Saigon.

In 1975, many Vietnamese who fled the country were prey to pirates, suffered from dehydration and starvation with the hope that soon they would reach the United States. These stories haunt me. I want to know why my grandparents took such risks to escape. 

The simple answer to this is freedom, including freedom of speech without the government's restraint. In countries like North Korea, China or Vietnam, citizens do not get to vote or their voting system is corrupt. 

Knowing that people from other countries who do not have the same privilege that I have makes me appreciate my right to vote. A survey in 2018 showed only 31% of citizens between the ages of 18-40 , said they would vote in the midterms.

American citizens should see that voting is not only our right, but it's also our power to have a voice in something important. That includes who is going to be elected the next president of the United States. Please vote.