For years a family member of mine used to pull me into these debates over politics. He was way on one side of the political aisle and I just had enough knowledge to be able to hold an argument, which is all he wanted.

So I would give him my side and he would spew garbage from his side. At every Christmas, Easter, kids' baseball game or chance meeting in the grocery store we would throw a little tidbit out there that got under the other's skin. Sometimes these were full-blown arguments and sometimes they were light jabs as we passed each other in the living room.

I envisioned a world where everything looked like a Mad Max movie if his political views ever reached the White House. He may have been completely wrong but at least he was passionate. I enjoyed these moments.

That is until he let it slip that he hadn't voted in years. At that moment, our debate ended. I won't engage.

It you're going to have a million opinions on everything from open land to the national debt, at least vote. There's no excuses. There's early voting if you can't get there on Election Day, the polls are open from the early morning to late at night and every media source reminds you when to vote.

He has taken his debate to other family members, co-workers and even Facebook, where he likes to post snippets of stories and headlines that match his opinions. When he gets the response he's looking for — which is outrage — he searches his favorite crazy political website to find a response instead of defending himself like an informed man.

And I hope this is fulfilling for him because our debates are over. If you're going to silence your voice on Election Day, silence your voice the rest of the year.

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