I write blogs for DENnews.com, themed around international politics.

I was preparing a series of blogs meant to track Hugo Chavez, the firebrand president of Venezula, most famous for equating President Bush with Satan.

I made an off-handed comment to a friend of mine about how damaged the legislative branch was.

“What’s that?” he asked.

I thought he was confused by the actual function of the legislature. For an American, the parliamentary system can be hard to understand, with its many parts, power blocs and coalitions.

No, he didn’t understand what a legislature was.

“Like Congress,” I said.

“Oh, I’m not registered to vote.”

I was aghast. How could an American not vote? I understand the numbers and low participation of the American public, but to not even be registered?

To not vote is to not exist, as far as the elections are concerned. That means complete and total irrelevancy. It’s like talking to a dead phone- the line’s dead, the communication doesn’t matter.

Not registering took my breath away. Here I was, trying to track down the maneuvers of one of the players of the world stage, and my friend thought that the president made the laws.

Some cynical part of me told me that it was good he didn’t vote. After all, if he didn’t know how the government operated, why should he vote? He would be a threat to the very system I love and adore.

He could make inappropriate decisions, or vote for people based on some trivial element- like the fact they are Catholics instead of Protestants, or they have darker skin than some.

But then my reason reasserted itself. It was obvious the Peotone school system had failed him miserably. Someone had to fill in for the education he should have been receiving since the third grade. And it looked like it would have to be me.

That’s not fair, I thought for a moment. It is unfair that I have to fill in for the failings of an entire school system. I’m just one man after all- I have two editorships, classes, and some semblance of a social life. I have things I want and need to do.

But there is nothing that I can do that would be more important than ensuring our democracy continues to function. I don’t especially care whom he votes for. He could vote for Kanye West for president, and that’d be fine by me. It would be a small commentary on his approval of West’s bizarre ideas.