This is a response to Lindsay Fiori's article "36 percent of Americans: Too lazy to head to the polls."

The news that 36 percent of Americans are too lazy to head to the polls is no doubt troubling to those of us who care about who leads our country. Even more troubling are the reasons the Pew Research Center gives for why people do not vote: apathy, laziness and not enough time.

However, it is important not to over-generalize or over-emphasize this number and the reasons people give for not voting. CNN reported that the 62 percent of Americans who voted in this year's election represented only a tiny increase from 2004. But contrary to the "Here's to you…" columnist's claim that "we're well on our way" to being a country absent of voters, an executive branch, Constitution or Statue of Liberty, there has been small yet consistent increases in voter turnout since 1996.

While I believe that nothing short of extraordinary circumstances should keep someone from voting, I take issue with the characterization of those who do not vote as people who "don't care about the economy, health care, abortion, war or same-sex marriage, among a whole host of other issues." It may be difficult for those of us who have only experienced the sunny side of the American Dream to appreciate the discontent felt by those who have time and again experienced the government's failure to fully live up to its promises to work for the middle class, protect citizens when natural disasters strike and curb corporate greed that contributes to an economic meltdown.

While their choice to not vote should not be condoned, we also should not ignore the legitimate basis of their feeling that no matter who is elected, the government will not serve their needs.

There are extraordinary circumstances that keep people from the polls. While making phone calls for a campaign on Election Day, I spoke with a senior citizen who told me that because she was having trouble breathing, she would not be able to leave her house to go vote. She was neither lazy, nor apathetic.

My point is this: if we decry the outrage of Americans choosing not to vote, let us also embrace the fact that the number of people who behave this way continues to decrease. While this increase in voter turnout may not be great in number, "Progress of the best kind," 19th Century Scottish author Samuel Smiles wrote, "is comparatively slow." This progress is more likely to come about if we make the case for the importance of voting in a democratic society, instead of generalizing non-voters as lazy and apathetic Facebook-stalkers.