On the first day of my summer vacation...

I love Suze Orman, but she needs to stick with financial advising and stay away from economics and politics:

I just finished watching Suze Orman on PBS. I definitely enjoy watching her speak and I think that the advice that she dispenses is priceless. She is truly an amazing financial advisor. She did mention something in her program, however, that I strongly disagree with. When answering an audience member’s question regarding the future of Social Security, she delivered a rant about young people needing to get involved in politics and the government. The general gist of her rant was that if you don’t vote then you cannot criticize the system. This judgmental, self-righteous attitude fuels the “vote for the sake of voting” fire. Is voting the only political activity that gives you the right to criticize the government? Let’s examine the argument that people who vote are more involved in the election decisions than people who do not vote and are therefore “allowed” to criticize government activities. If we apply this logic to everyone, then the only people who should be able to criticize the government are the people who are most involved in the election process. That means that people who vote get shouldn’t say anything because there are people who vote AND volunteer their time. Those people shouldn’t say anything because there are also people who vote AND volunteer their time AND donate their money. Of course those people shouldn’t say anything because there are people who vote AND volunteer their time AND donate their money AND put stickers on their car. This logical reasoning now limits the amount of people who can criticize the government to a few individuals who have dedicated their lives, their fortunes, and their votes to the election process.
Voting is simply one of many activities that you can take part in that allows you to get involved with the election process. Why should that single activity be any different than any other activity? I have been eligible to vote for the past 12 years and I have never even bothered to register; yet I still take the time to educate myself on government activities. I also take the time to discuss these activities with my students inside and outside of the classroom so that they can make informed voting decisions if they choose to vote.
So the next time you decide to criticize someone for not voting, remember that there is someone out there who has done more than you yet has refrained from judging you for your lack of actions.