Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in countries with no elections, no voting. Others have elections but in name only. The leader always receives an unbelievably high percentage of the vote, the results greased by corruption. In others, violence mars the election, and voters stay away from the polls for fear of losing their lives.

Apparently, my regard for voting is not shared by many of my fellow citizens. Only about forty percent of registered U.S. voters bothered to exercise the privilege in recent elections, not even half of those eligible.

I understand the temptation to walk away from what has become almost a blood sport, turned off by the partisanship, mud slinging, and outright lying. The amount of money spent on campaigns is what I can only describe as sinful, using that word deliberately.

It won’t change as long as we stay away. Elections with a high voter turnout tend to result in changes; lower turnout favors the status quo.

I’ve always cast a ballot, absentee in those years I lived away from home (beginning in college). I know how rare the privilege is in much of the world. Ask those fleeing refugees.