Why Should I Vote?
This post was inspired by a recent conversation.
I believe that just about everybody would agree that the current state of politics is a complete bastardization of what our forefathers had in mind. Don’t get me wrong now, I love America and I am very grateful to be here, but our government has reached an unbelievable level of corruption.
I am not a registered voter, nor do I plan to be. Why should I vote? Why should I have to “choose the lesser of two evils”? It’s not the act of voting that disgusts me, it’s the cesspool that we have to pick from. I believe Wendy McElroy explains it much better than I ever could:
It is commonly said, “If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain about the outcome.” The opposite is true. By playing the game, voters agree to the rules. Only those who don’t play and withhold their consent have a right to complain about the outcome, especially since the winner will have his hand in the non-voter’s pocket.
Voting is not an act of political freedom. It is an act of political conformity. Those who refuse to vote are not expressing silence. They are screaming in the politician’s ear: “You do not represent me. This is not a process in which my voice matters. I do not believe you.”
What kills me are the people that have no clue about politics but feel they absolutely must exercise their “right to vote”. Hell, I would rather someone not vote, than blindly choose a candidate without even knowing their political stances, or basing their decision on who their friends or family members are voting for. There was a presidential election when I was eighteen, and I was less cynical towards politics at that time. But I chose not to vote because I was logical enough to realize that I did not know enough about the candidates in question to make a legitimate decision.
What is even more ridiculous than the clueless voters are the geniuses that vote straight republican or straight democratic. The shear fact of supporting a political party is asinine. Can you not form your own opinions concerning political matters? Political parties should be done away with, and a politician should be judged solely by his or her own political beliefs and actions.
The whole country’s got a f***ed up mentality. We all got a gang mentality. Republicans are f***ing idiots, democrats are f***ing idiots, conservatives are idiots, and liberals are idiots. Anyone who makes up their mind before they hear the issue is a f***ing fool. It’s bullshit. Be a f***ing person. Listen, let it swirl around in your head. Then form an opinion. No normal, decent person is one thing. I got some shit I’m conservative about, I got some shit I’m liberal about.
Chris Rock
Sadly there are only two people in the whole country that have a chance to become the next president, and if you don’t like either one of them, tough shit. Even if I had to vote, it would definitely not be for one of these two douche bags because I cannot even imagine the dastardly things they have done to get to that position. So I ask again, why should I vote?
March 8, 2008 at 8:53 am
There are many who share your views, voting in any candidate from either of our two current parties will only serve to keep the wealthy corporations and their pals in government in power the only change we will get is newer or different players in the game who have jumped up the ladder, while there are other parties and candidates to vote for I wonder if we could actually straight honest vote anymore if one were to choose someone from a third party.
March 19, 2008 at 2:57 am
I don’t know much about American politics, but surely there is a candidate who carries the same opinion as you? Maybe its a case of looking at your own priority issue and voting purely for that.
In Oz voting is mandatory, although I think its a good idea.. If everyone must vote then the voice of your state is represented in full.
March 19, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Well LuLi, I’m sure there is someone running for president that I could agree with most issues on. But in America there are only two people that have a chance of winning the election, a Republican or a Democrat. If you aren’t voting for one of them, you just wasted your time going to the polls. In reality your vote doesn’t really even matter in America. We have an electoral college that votes for the president, albeit based on the citizens’ votes. For example, in 2000 Bush lost the popular vote but was still elected president by the electoral college. And to show you how stupid Americans are, he was elected again in ‘04. In the end, it doesn’t matter if you vote or who you vote for, big business is going to run the country anyways.