Have you voted yet?

Have you voted yet? No, I don't mean the Federal election due this year. I mean the election 30 year away. That's right that election due to be held circa 2040, just around the time you will be lying in bed drooling on a napkin in some nursing home somewhere (that's if you are one of the lucky ones to avoid the dreaded heart attack). Confused? Don't see what that's got to do with your comfortable present-day life?

Let me explain. You like where you are in life right now, right? I mean, it's not perfect, but there are a lot of things you are proud off, things you want to preserve. Things like your community, family, values, mp3 collection, you name it.  If someone came along and took it all away you would feel pretty angry. Now, these things are all secure while you are around but you know that it wouldn't stay that way forever. After all, the live we build is a product of multitude of decisions we all make every day. The life of a city, a state, a continent is an orchestra woven with the voices of its' citizens. The never ending ballot of minute decisions building our communal existence into a common melody. Right now you have a voice in that melody. A say in how the lives of the people around you will be shaped, but one day that voice will be silenced and someone else will get your voting rights. Who will that be? Will he (she) care about the things you passionately care about right now? Or will the fruits of your life's work be undone in an instant? Some people will say 'What do I care after I'm gone?' And maybe if you are one of them, you should stop reading the rest of this article (you probably already did and started watching 'funny cat videos' on Youtube). But chances are you don't feel that way. Chances are you feel the cumulative legacy of your lifetime to be a damn worthwhile thing to just throw away and the things and people you care about too precious to abandon. In that case I got a good news for you! Notice something? You are still around. Able bodied, breathing, reading this article. Wake up! It's a big job ahead of you so don't delay. Start imparting, teaching, communicating... To your kids of course, who else? They will be the ones left standing at the poling booth when you are gone. Show them why it's good to vote the way you did. None is watching, observing you more then they do so show them why the things you care about are worth it. It's a hard job and sometimes I think one lifetime is just not enough time to do it right. But if you succeed, in the eternity of human existence there will be a proxy vote reserved for you.