In Iraq, the new-found freedom of the people allows them to vote for their leaders. But every time they do, they are threatened with attacks. Despite the threats and the bombs, more than 75 percent of the registered voters show up at the polls. Here in the Untied States, we have no threats, no bombs, no fear of dying for simply voting, yet an average of only 40 percent of us show up at the ballot box.

Voting is a precious right that many of us forget is something very few people in the world have the privilege of doing. By voting, we have the opportunity to choose our leaders, the men and women who dedicate their lives to serving their fellow citizens.

We all have likely heard the phrase the “consent of the governed.” By voting, we give our consent to our leaders and we entrust them with the will of the majority. Our leaders in AS gather the opinions, needs and wants of the students and communicate those to each other and to Biola’s administration in order to achieve the best outcome for the current and future student bodies. On the national scale, as our country is facing new, difficult times, it is our duty to elect men and women who accomplish the will of the people and the best direction for the nation and her posterity.

If we do not vote, we find ourselves subject to a tyrannical system, which takes advantage of the governed at every opportunity. This, our founding fathers knew and is the reason why they included the right to vote in our Constitution. This is also the reason why the Iraqi people vote in such vast numbers, because they remember life without rights.

As we vote this week for AS and this fall for our local, state and national leaders, may we remember it is our right and duty to vote, to communicate our desires and needs and to prevent falling into the beginnings of an overbearing government, but to find one which exercises justice and a great moral character in the interests of the majority.