Photo credit | Flickr
Voting is not just a right in America, but also an extraordinary tool for change. President Donald Trump serves as an excellent example of the importance of being a registered voter. Decisions are inevitably made by those who show up on election day. As it turns out, Colin Kaepernick is not one of those people.
And apparently, he never has been.
After the 2016 election, Kaepernick admits to reporters, that he didn’t vote. However, what he fails to disclose, is the fact he isn’t even registered. Despite turning 18 in 2005, the poster-boy for social justice has never bothered to vote. It seems taking a knee for the national anthem, is much easier than taking action to make a difference.
According to records from the California Secretary of State, the former San Francisco 49er has never registered to vote in the state. Nor did he, according to Washoe County Records, register in Nevada. Kaepernick was living there from 2006 until 2010 when he was attending college at the University of Nevada-Reno.
Kaepernick says that voting is hypocritical to him. Moreover, he seems to suggest that the democratic process is part of the problem, not the solution. “I said from the beginning I’m against the system of oppression…,” Kaepernick says. “The oppressor isn’t going to allow you to vote your way out of your oppression.”
Ironically, one of the biggest arguments leftists have about voting is that voter ID laws are racist and oppressive. But, if what Kaepernick believes is true, then minorities should not be voting. In the real world, voting gives a voice to those who, otherwise, go unheard.
But alas, Kaepernick and all those following in his footsteps don’t live in reality.
The Real World
Photo credit | Wikimedia Commons
If they were living in the real world they would not say that America, despite offering them every opportunity to succeed, is fraught with racism and inequality. Never mind the fact that a minority member became the leader of the free world. Like him or not, Obama is an American success story.
Regardless, kneeling on a football field doesn’t feed a hungry child. Raising fists and locking arms won’t keep a homeless person warm on a cold night. But, they do make for a good headline. Which, calls into question just what does Kaepernick care about?
