freedom democracy and all that

We hear our politicians and pundits toss around words like "freedom," "democracy," and similar charged diction.

Really?

In the United States, "land of the free," more than 70 million people who are eligible to vote do not vote.

That amount comprises how many countries?

Of the number who register to vote (a group that is smaller than the universe of potential voters in America), a small percentage actually votes. This year, 2014, it was about 36% of eligible voters who voted. Remember, that 70 million is missing in action.

So we have a minuscule number of people voting compared to the number who could be voting.

I rarely miss a chance to vote, even in primaries.

Freedom.

Democracy.

Do the math.