While this is true, it adds nothing to the discussion.

Yes, every citizen should vote, it's your civil obligation.

But the people who aren't voting aren't reading articles about politics here on Medium. They're disproportionately poor people who simply can't afford to vote.

Everyone reading this has read this speech a hundred times.

And there's another, much more important point - which is that just voting is nowhere near enough. The left needs to organize!, not just passively vote 5 times a decade.

These endless "voting" speeches give the impression that radical progressive change is possibly simply by voting.

But in each Presidential election, about 90% of Americans live in non-swing states. That mean their votes are mathematically worthless - purely symbolic. Oh, you should vote anyway, it's your duty!, but your voting isn't getting anything done unless you live in a swing state.

Even in swing states, your vote is a one-bit yes-or-no message to your representatives, delivered once every two years. This is simply not enough to convey any useful information about your desires and ethics.

You should be contacting all your representatives as often as possible and telling them in no uncertain terms what needs to happen. You need to be figuring out advocacy groups that speak for you and contributing to them.

If you can do it without endangering yourself, then demonstrating, even in small groups, is a proven way to effect political change, which is why it is rapidly becoming illegal in some parts of the world like the UK.

Changing your spending habits is something that can make a steady change in the world. Buggy whips and moustache wax are no longer in every shop because consumer tastes changed. Non-Republican American consumers spend literally trillions of dollars every year. That money has great power.

Voter suppression is a huge reason that voter turnout is so low. You'd be much better writing about that, or screaming to your reps to fix that, or giving money to someone like Greg Palast who exposes that.

Coming into a discussion about politics with the unadorned, "VOTE!", insight has about as much use as coming into a discussion about nutrition to say, "Don't forget to eat!"