Like many others, over the years I have witnessed on my TV screen news stories from all over the planet that dealt with those who have fought for and in some cases achieved the right to vote in democratic elections.

Our troops are currently fighting and dying right now in Afghanistan, and have fought and died in Iraq so the people of those countries can go to the polls in peace without fear or intimidation.

We have seen queues of poor, impoverished people waiting in line for the poll stations to open for sometimes hours on end. We are aware that many of these people walk for miles, and in some cases days, to register their vote.

With this in mind I would respectfully ask your readers two things. If there is still time for those who have not yet registered to vote, please do so as soon as possible.

To those who seem to present a cynical face to our democratic system, who tell friends, news reporters and others who ask that they are not going to vote, I would again respectfully ask them to reconsider their stance.

Those soldiers who died and their families deserve a better response from all of us. To cast your vote would be a small response, a way of simply saying “Thank you” for the sacrifices they have made on our behalf. Now more than ever our country needs us all to get out once in five years to do a simple thing – cast a vote. Cast a vote in memory of all those who, over the centuries, have fought in this country to give us what we have today. Cast a vote for all those millions throughout the world who do not have the privileges we have. Vote tactically if you do not want to vote for either of the two main parties.

But please, get out in your hundreds, if not thousands, and vote. This is the very kind of silent revolution you can take part in. Be proud of who you are. Be proud of your heritage. Your freedoms could so easily be taken away from you.

Michael James, Montague Street, Brighton