Kobe Bryant writes about why he votes
With Election Day a mere 12 days away, celebrities and athletes from around the country have sprouted up with their reasons as to why they vote. Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant joined that group on Thursday when he wrote a piece for iVillage titled “Why I Vote.”
“The idea that each vote matters and that we individually have the power to influence how we are governed is why so many of our men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Bryant wrote.
Bryant said in the article that after he and his wife welcomed their children into the world, they became more concerned with politics.
“In the past I believed that not exercising my right to vote would not make a difference in who became the next president so why should I take the time to learn the issues?” Bryant wrote. “I’d rather be shooting hoops!”
Bryant went on to point out that in the past he would watch ESPN and his wife Vanessa would watch “Sex and the City” — a show that he admitted to watching, loving and finding “quite ‘informative” — instead of learning about political issues.
Bryant’s children are nine and six, and in the article he writes that they are learning about the civil rights movement and the women’s rights movement. He wrote that, naturally, his children had questions about the different movements. According to Bryant, the most important responses that could be given to children are that the world has changed because of action.
“We tell them, YOU too can change the world if you so dream and that YOUR opinion matters, YOU MATTER,” Bryant wrote. “Yes, voting is about doing your part as a responsible citizen but what really moves us to vote and learn about the issues is the example we set for our children and honoring the history of DEMOCRACY that our beautiful country stands for.”
