I just don’t get it.
Politics October 25th, 2004 |I came across something that surprised me this morning — one of the more frequent commenters on this site, who (from what I’ve been able to tell in the past) shares my disgust with Bush and what his administration has done to this country, won’t be voting.
Lisa came over to me with a somewhat excited yet serious look on her face, insisting that I turn down the TV. “It’s the Gallup Poll,” she explained. As much as we both wanted her to be the one to do it, their attempt at randomness pegged me (whoever had the most recent birthday). Why her? Well, I knew that in the end they would be asking whether or not you are likely to vote and I would have to say “No,” which could effect the way my answers would be used. And don’t bother asking why somewhat who despises Bush as much as I do won’t be voting - just accept it, or be prepared for a full-on lecture regarding my beliefs.
Well, it looks like I need to be prepping myself for that full-on lecture, because I just do not get it. I can almost understand the people who don’t bother to vote because they don’t bother to pay attention to anything beyond the latest reality television programming — it saddens me, but I can (almost) understand.
But what I don’t understand is how someone who actually pays attention and has at least two brain cells to rub together (qualities I’d ascribe to most, if not all, of the people who I’ve noticed stop by here regularly) — especially someone who openly admits that they consider Bush to be “possibly the worst President ever” and that “if I were voting it would be for Kerry” — wouldn’t vote.
Not only do I not understand, but I have to admit, I find it very hard to respect the opinion of someone who won’t excercise their right to do what they can to influence the direction and government of the country.
As I’ve said in the past, as far as I’m concerned, if you don’t vote, than you have no right to bitch if you don’t like where things are going. From a letter to a friend in Alaska in April 2003:
I know that a lot of people I know have historically not paid much attention to politics, especially in Alaska. Heck, by the time most people in Alaska are voting, we usually have a good idea who’s going to win in a national election, and a lot of people use that as a point in the “why bother?” argument. However, I think if we paid attention to the 2000 elections enough to actually learn something, it might have been that individual votes, no matter how inconsequential they might seem, do count. What if just a few thousand — or even a few hundred — of the people who usually say “why bother?” had shown up at the polls in Florida? Bush didn’t win the popular vote, and he only got the Electoral College vote by a narrow margin. If there were a bit less apathy, and a bit more action behind the grumbling I hear so often, we might have a very different country today. Okay, then, so what about all you in Alaska? I could easily imagine a lot of Alaskans returning to the same old argument of how Alaskan votes don’t really count, because of the way the Electoral College is set up. That may be so, but…I’ve never been one to let that stop me from voting. Whether or not it “matters” in the grand scheme of things, I’ve always thought that if you don’t even make the attempt to voice your opinion, than you really don’t have much grounds to stand on when you start to complain. A democracy — our democracy — can only work if ‘we the people’ actually care enough to pay attention to it, to get involved, and to shake off the apathy that all too often keeps people away from the polls. Put most simply, in my (not necessarily) humble opinion, if you don’t vote, you’ve got absolutely no right to bitch. Do you believe that one candidate is better than another? Stand behind that belief, express it, and I’ll be a lot more likely to listen to you than if you just sit at home and abdicate your right to any say.
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p>On top of that, even if you refuse to vote in the Presidential election, that’s hardly the only thing on the ballot. Local races, initiatives, Gubernatorial and Senatorial choices, all of these can make a difference not just in the quality of life for where you live, but in the direction our country takes in the long run (we actually stand a chance, slim as it might be, of getting a Democratic majority in DC again).
How anyone can claim to care about the state of affairs in the country, but not care enough to vote, is beyond me.
[See also: Get involved! | Suggestions: Good candidate overview sites? | The ‘I don’t vote’ party | Kodak moments | 254 - 252 ]
jer@nyquil.org
James
Greg
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October 25th, 2004 at 2:18 pm
Apathy, lack of hope, fear of loss, fear of commitement — subconcious fear of change?
Most of it I would imagine is simply the fear that not every vote counts, with stories of corruption running rampant (and have for decades, mind you).
But in the end, you are right. The only power for a U.S. citizen to practice what he/she preaches, short of becoming a civil servant or revolutionary, is to vote. And this year I’ll be voting democrat — contrary to all my years of 3rd party voting.
October 25th, 2004 at 2:44 pm
And I’ll say it here like I said it on the “I’ve been Galluped” comment form, if you live in the City of Seattle, vote NO on I-83 - tell big-bucks developer Martin Selig and his 2nd Avenue cronies (WaMU, Wash Federal Savings, and others) that we don’t want their corporate interference in our grass-roots efforts to get rapid transit in this city. Tell them to take a hike - a big win for the No I-83 would tell corporate Seattle that the citizens of this city count more than their dollars.
October 25th, 2004 at 2:51 pm
I just realized your comment was actually a trackback. And from your writing, I would completely expect you to comment on my post. I wrote an explanation of sorts in my comments, and I’ll leave it there for you to read. I just have 2 things I’ll add here, though:
1 - No matter what you decide, you always have the right to bitch. That’s the beauty of the First Amendment. And if all the people who voted for Gore in 2000 got was the right to complain about Bush, then the system is far worse than even I believed.
2 - After the couple comments about other elections, I may very well reconsider this policy for the next election. Perhaps I will begin an effort to see if things can truly be made better on the local level. But having lived in Hoboken for the better part of the last decade makes even that difficult to believe.
October 25th, 2004 at 3:47 pm
The only rational I would be generate would be if in a given election there were absoloutly no-one in good faith I could vote for for or against.
It’s only happened to me once, in a local election were both of the only two candiates were dispicable and I thought “I’ll be damned if either of them get’s my vote.”
Usually I can at least find someone to vote against at least.
October 25th, 2004 at 4:39 pm
(Note: the following comment was also posted on indieb0y’s site, but I wanted to have a copy here, too.)
I can certainly understand the feelings behind this — in all honesty, I’m no great fan of much of our current system (a de facto two-party system based more on money than ideas, an electoral college that still strikes me as nothing more than wonky at best, and many other issues). The thing is, like it or not, it’s all we’ve got, and while it may not work well, it’s not going to work any better if people just declare it broken, throw up their hands in defeat, and walk away.
You could argue that you don’t want to participate by voting because it just supports the current system. Okay, that may be the case — but what good does not voting do? You may not be supporting an institution that you have problems with, but millions of other people are, and many of them have beliefs diametrically opposed to yours. By refusing to participate, you’re granting them that much more power over how you are allowed to live your life.
In fact, I could easily see arguing that by not participating, you’re supporting the current broken system more than if you did come out and vote, precisely because you who disagree with how things are currently run aren’t making your voice heard — and those that are in power, those that bend, break, and twist the system to their own means, end up carrying the day yet again.
As goofy as I often find the Libertarian and Green parties to be, many of them also believe that there are problems with the current system, only they’re working to change it — and after the events of 2000, I’d hardly be one to dismiss them as “fringe” elements unworthy of consideration. There’s a strong argument to be made that the Green party was a major factor in the outcome of the 2000 elections — and while it wasn’t their candidate that eventually won, and while it’s quite possible that their influence may have contributed to the mess we’re in now by helping Bush gain his seat in office, the fact remains that these are people who saw something wrong with the system as it was, wanted to make a change, and spent years working towards that change. I may not like that particular end result, but I can respect that they were trying to do what they saw as best for the country.
Affecting a system as entrenched as ours certainly isn’t a minor undertaking, of course. The Green and Libertarian parties have both been around for years, but as of late, they’re a factor — not a factor likely to win a major election, sure, but certainly a factor with the potential ability to affect an election — a major step in itself. Had all of these people done what you do — stayed home, given up, kept their mouths shut — than they wouldn’t even be affecting things as much as they are.
(Okay, yes, I realize that given the possibility that had Nader and the Green party not been a factor in the 2000 elections Gore might be President, some may use that as a reason why it would have been better if the Green party had stayed quietly at home. That’s not the point I’m arguing here, though.)
In the end (before I ramble any more than I already have), for me, it simply boils down to this: is staying quiet and abstaining from the vote really doing any more good than voting for those people that you truly think can do the best job of moving things in a direction you’d be happier with?
October 25th, 2004 at 9:08 pm
I read the post and the comments: he’s the one who doesn’t get it. He wants the rights without the responsibilities (as Kirsten pointed out) and that’s not what the founders had in mind. regardless of all that’s changed (the arms they felt comfortable with bearing were muzzle-loaders, not 9mm pistols or AK47s), some things haven’t.
“I’m tired of hearing it said that Democracy doesn’t work. Of course it doesn’t work. We are supposed to work.” - Alexander Wollcott.
October 25th, 2004 at 9:41 pm
I live in a democracey where is it compulsory to vote, Australia. I cannot understand living in a place where only people that care get to vote. It means that small vocal groups can sway the whole result.
October 26th, 2004 at 2:29 am
Nonvoters cause froth to appear on my lips and steam to issue from my ears. THERE IS NO EXCUSE. NONE. Vote for the lesser of 2 (or 3 or whatever) evils if you must, but go get the hl off your insane bt and VOTE. Or if you really feel you don’t know what to do with your vote, you can donate it to someone who does. When I was 12 and became intensely interested in politics, just as Vietnam was ending, I was shocked to find out my mother — intelligent, educated, fascinating — did not vote. She had no good excuse. I told her, Mom, you go register, I’ll tell you who to vote for. She did, and I did. Six years later, I registered myself with vastly more enthusiasm than I had given to the quest for a driver’s license a year earlier. From special elections for sewer bonds to The Big Presidential Enchilada, I turned out for everything. I still do. It’s real and pure and my vote matters, as does yours. It’s a right people around the world have fought and died for. It’s a right that AMERICANS OF MY GENDER DIDN’T EVEN HAVE UNTIL THE TWENTIETH CENTURY WAS TWENTY YEARS OLD!!!! Urg. I must stop now, amid the froth and steam. Is 11/2 here yet?
October 26th, 2004 at 3:42 am
The combination of a freaky dream and my neighbor’s too-loud-TV woke me up at 3am, and I took advantage of the fact that I was way more awake than I wanted to be to continue this discussion on indieb0i’s page — head over there for more good comments.
And now, to see if I can get back to sleep. Ugh. Two hours ‘till my alarm goes off…