Daily Times

Mr. Chaudhry, who lives down the street loves a good holiday. He says, however, that he is too lazy to vote. Mrs. Chaudry feels the same way and so do their children who are old enough to vote now. Well, can’t really blame them, considering the rhetoric their parents have espoused for most part of their lives. The irony, however, is in the fact that the same Chaudhry family also whines and complains when there are power outages and also how because of the high taxation they are not able to take a much desired trip to the Northern Areas. The question, nevertheless, remains that has the Chaudhry family ever done anything to do away with these problems? And the answer is a resounding no.

Armeen Khan is a teacher. On Election Day, when her students proudly put up photos on Facebook, displaying their inked thumbs, she comments that, now that her Saturdays are on, she has decided to catch up on some sleep over the long weekend.On regular days, however, she vehemently complains about the literacy rate in the country.

Dr. Azam is an exceptional doctor and occasionally, he writes columns about corruption plagued state of Pakistan. He continues to pray for a corruption free country for his children in the future. Yet, when it is time to vote, he goes with his sons to the morning movie show instead.

Nida and Aimen are best friends. Both of them are very vocal on social media platforms, to the extent that one may describe them as political activists, as they actively support their parties on social media and often engage in debates with fellow keyboard jihadis with regard to the political scene in the country.And yet, when the big day arrives, they refuse to go to the polling station but glue themselves to the television screens to see the end results claiming, ‘humare vote say thori na kuchhonahai?’

The problem, in our national conscience is this belief that our votes are useless. We refuse to acknowledge the importance each and every vote has, never realize that with our votes, we have power to change the fate of our country. With such an attitude, do we even have the right to blame the government, considering we do exactly what we accuse them of, choosing procrastination over change? Each and every vote counts. Every vote is a voice in its own. And when voices come together, they are heard and once heard, a revolution begins. Wake up, brush your teeth, step in your vehicle or walk if you must, but go and vote and never forget that your vote counts.