Matthew Lang’s letter concerning political apathy (“Americans’ political apathy is shameful,” Feb.16, p.6) is ridiculous. I congratulate him on correctly defining the word “apathy,” and repeatedly declaring that he does, in fact, vote in elections. If I actually cared about Mr. Lang’s voting habits, I would award him a medal for best snobbery in civic duty. I am not politically apathetic, but found Mr. Lang’s foolish remarks completely unfounded. Mr. Lang impolitely equated political apathy with ignorance after stating that he did “not believe in making generalizations.” Did you ever consider that laziness is not the reason for apathy or low voter turnout, but rather a personal choice? People do not vote in elections for many reasons, including the lack of impressive candidates, and/or low confidence in the Electoral College system. Mr. Lang’s “intervention to cure an American epidemic of laziness” then disintegrated into a rant against conservatives and others who support the war in Iraq. Democracy is about freedom and choice, and in this country we can choose to vote or be politically involved. This is a free country, and Mr. Lang should show a bit more tolerance for people less involved in government and politics.

Jesse Rodgers CAS ’07