We live in a time of great uncertainty. Americans have been expressing their opposing concerns about what has been happening in our federal government during the past six weeks.

A troubling fact is that according to U.S. News & World Report, close to 90 million Americans of voting age did not go to the polls in last November’s presidential election. That number is greater than the total who voted for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, according to The Guardian.

Why? Was it apathy? Was it that they didn’t care for either candidate? Did 90 million people have something better to do that day?

The Guardian study found out that some don’t vote because they live in small states and they believe that the few Electoral College votes won’t make a difference. Another reason offered for not voting was that many thought that neither candidate represented working class Americans.

A 29-year-old man from Pennsylvania said that both parties hate the poor and serve only big corporations that contribute millions of dollars to their campaigns.

A 34-year-old truck driver from Indiana said: “I refuse to put my name on either candidate when I know neither of them are truly the best we have to offer. We need a major overhaul to the two-party system. As a man with young children I worry about what kind of country they will grow up in. It terrifies me; we deserve better.”

Many people said they did not vote this time because of a growing disillusionment with the extreme polarization caused by political loyalties. An architect in his 40s from Tennessee said he has lost hope in political process.

“Skip the debates, what a circus,” he said. “I’m so sick of hearing about politics.”

The outcome of the election was decided by less than 2% of the popular vote. I am left to wonder what would have been the results if even half of the 90 million Americans took the 15 minutes or so to cast their ballots.

Much controversy about out federal government has risen since the election. Those who support the president battle those who do not support him on social media sites every day. I have to wonder how many of those 90 million are joining in the conversations. I have heard people say, “I don’t want to get involved. It doesn’t matter what I think” or “It’s just best that you pay your bills, live your life, and stay out of the chaos.”

In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote an essay titled, “American Crisis.” The colonists were living under British rule and Paine was disturbed by the number of them that had accepted the status quo. So, what if the British were taxing them and forcing them to follow laws that were unfair, they thought. At least they weren’t shooting at them.

Paine’s essay called for the colonists to unite in protest, to fight for independence. His words rallied an unstoppable force of resistance to defeat the British and what we attained in return was the United States of America.

History does repeat itself. Before the Revolutionary War, many colonists were comfortable enough to live under British rule. It was what it was. Today, 90 million Americans seem to have said, “It is what it is” and they will accept whatever should come to them from the decisions made by our government.

I have been a voice on social media platforms expressing my views about current decisions and policies that have been put in place in the past six weeks. I have remained respectful and provided objective facts that have been confirmed to support my arguments.

In replies, I have been cursed at in capital letters, accused of being loyal to one of the political parties, which I am not. I have been called other things that cannot be printed in this newspaper. I did not expect to be insulted just for expressing my opinion. That said, I am a voice for my two children as they are about to step into this chaos as young adults, and I want a better USA for them than we have now.

Our nation is fractured. We the people now live in the Divided State of America. On one hand, I can admire how passionate people are about our country. On the other hand, I am astounded by the lack of actual facts missing in so many arguments. We seem to be good with the “truth” as it is told to us by the TV media.

And yet, the apathy looms like a black cloud over our grand old flag. As a former high school teacher, I can confirm that the average teenage student does not get excited about what there is to be learned in a civics classroom and that lack of interest keeps many young voters away from the election sites.

According to many studies, voter apathy, however, ranges across the ages from 18- to 100-year-olds. They disconnect themselves from the federal policies created in Washington that affect our lifestyles and yet that does not keep them from complaining about the price of groceries and gas, even though economists say that a president has very little control over inflation and the price we pay at the pump. That’s another example of misinformation people think is fact, and yet elected officials continue to use these topics as propaganda to convince the middle class that they can lower the cost of living at will.

However the outcome of this current administration plays out in this volatile world we live in, some will praise and some will blame, but the voices of 90 million Americans who did not vote will be left to say, “It is what it is.”

Email Rich Strack at richiesadie11@gmail.com