My vote is not a checkmark on a piece of paper, it comes with a story to tell, a story started by James Madison of 1787. My vote is for all of the men and women in combat who made America free. I once heard a veteran say, “I don’t care what opinion people have, as long as they understand what I had to go through in order for that happen.” I will never understand what he went through but I will remember the ones who fought for our freedom. 

My vote will be for men in my family that have devoted their lives to the military, with the purpose of doing nothing other than giving me and you the right to freedom. For my great grandfather that fought in the NAVY during WWII. For my grandfather, that fought Vietnam through the ’60s. For my other grandfather that enlisted in the NAVY out of high school. Finally for my father that fought in the Persian Gulf war. Years ago I heard him say, “I don’t care what they use their freedom for, as long as the use it.” It showed me that freedom does not have an opinion attached to it, freedom is an open statement. 

My vote will build our country, the same way it was hundreds of years ago. People take for granted the history our country has put into it to reach the position it is now. Thomas Jefferson once said, “We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” Americans believe that others will do the work for them, but no one can make your decisions for you.

My vote will be a representation of who I am, a description of me. I am patriotic and passionate about my opinion. I stand by my opinion because that is what the men in my family taught me. My vote will not mean a checkmark on a piece of paper, it comes with a story to tell.