The frustrating thing about politics to most people, I believe, is how little it appears one person can do. However angry, motivated or energized I am about something — from the "only sensible" solution to local school funding to doing the "smart thing" about bus service to ending the war — the idea that one person can have any effect at all seems more than ludicrous. So while plenty of people are willing to try and make an impact through voting for individuals, most people look at the big picture — there am I, one person out of millions — and shrug their shoulders and give up.

Giving up is even less effective than being one vote among millions; simple statistics proves that. A single vote is tiny, but it is something. Nothing is always nothing — except when it's less. Not voting means another person takes your place entirely; your one vote may not count for much, but your "no vote" counts for nothing. And in the meantime, the people that do vote get to make decisions for you. Kind of like a tyrant would do.

So voting actually does matter, even if the scale of impact appears minute. But in most elections, there are only two or three choices. Which means that by voting, you are automatically part of a larger group. And the only way your favored group ends up the largest group is if you give them your vote. By actually voting, you ensure that your choice is multiplied. Tens of millions of people will vote for president, and while your one lone vote may seem completely insignificant, it is actually multiplied tens of millions of times. All the other people who also select your candidates — each one using no more than the same single vote you use — are increasing the power of your vote millions of times over.

It's like compound interest, only it happens immediately on Election Day.

As a political activist, I would also add that to increase the power of your solitary vote, you should get involved in the campaign or campaigns that mean the most to you. Nothing has more impact on an election than the involvement of local citizens, neighbors talking to neighbors, whether door-to-door, on the phone, or just casually. If you really want change, or to defeat some ballot initiative, then you have to do more than cast your vote. Donate to the campaign or volunteer. Just a few bucks and few nights a month: It takes very little when many people do it.

The beauty of democracy is that it allows individuals to maintain their unique identity while becoming part of a mass social effort. No mobs are needed. Just the willingness to cast your vote, however tiny that piece of paper may seem to you.