Imagine, for a minute, that somewhere in the not-too-distant future, you are sitting at home watching the 2008 Presidential elections. As each vote gets counted and a country shaded a hue of red or blue, you begin to realize that this election is a lot closer than anyone thought it would be. You, in your concerned state of mind, worry that it might come down to one vote -- and you didn't vote! Not to worry, because there has never been an election that has come down to one vote; not even 300 votes, for that matter. In fact, one of the closest elections before the Bush-Gore fiasco in 2000 was the Nixon-Kennedy Presidential election in 1960, which was won by Kennedy. They were separated by 100,000 votes!
The 2000 Presidential election, which came down to the state of Florida -- it was that close -- the margin that George W. Bush won by was 537 votes. There are over 6,000,000 people living in the state of Florida. Imagine one of them decides to stay home rather than vote in that election: the total only increases to 538, or decreases to 536. For a vote to have actually mattered, 537 of those Floridians would have had to stay home rather than vote. Voting just doesn't make a difference.
When MTV isn't playing commercials telling you to go out and vote and "make your voice heard," you have patriots left and right urging you to come out to the polls to show your support, if not for a particular party, then for the United States of America in general.
First of all, you don't make your voice heard by voting, unless you count finger-pointing as a form of stimulating your vocal cords. Basically, all you say when you vote is "I want that guy." You don't say "I want this guy to be the next President because he supports partial-birth abortion and homosexual marriage." Yes, you choose the candidate whose beliefs best match yours, but that doesn't mean he's going to run his campaign, nor his Presidency, by those beliefs. Oftentimes, candidates will cater their own personal beliefs to beliefs that will garner more votes for the party. So, when a candidate says "I do not support stem-cell research," he may only be saying so to garner the votes of the religious right. Some voice you have!
Secondly, by not voting, it does not mean one does not support the United States. This is the America, after all, that grants freedom of speech. Choosing not to vote is just as much making your voice heard as they claim voting is. Voting, when you boil it all down, is nothing more than choosing between two candidates: a Republican and a Democrat. Think about it for a minute: the top tier of the political party hierarchy all have "connections." They know people. These connections alone are enough votes to encompass the total amount of votes any independent party ever gets.
You may side with the candidate of an independent party, but let's be real here, when has an independant party ever garnered even half the lion's share of the votes? Never. Every election comes down to the Republicans and the Democrats, and the other parties are scrap meat thrown out to the dogs. In fact, in 2000, George W. Bush and Al Gore combined for 96.25% of all votes in the United States, leaving the remaining 3.75% to be divvied up between the six other candidates. All that can really be inferred from a lack of voting is that you don't support either of the two parties the election will inevitably come down to.
Another popular claim by patriots is that if you don't vote, you have no right to complain about the state of the country. That's poor logic to say the least. Consider this: you go out to the polls and punch a hole next to George W. Bush's name. You support Bush. When the votes are counted, and Bush has won, and butchers America the way he has in his six years as President, that is indirectly your fault: you voted him in; whereas I, who did not vote, have every right to complain about the candidate whom I did not vote into office.
There are 298,025,936 people living in the United States as of this writing. 74.3%, or 221,433,270, of them are over 18 years of age, the legal age to register to vote. Imagine that all 221,433,270 are in one room labeled "United States" and in it is a big debate about which candidate should be President, each person trying to shout over another. You decide to join in; you, 1 out of 221,433,270 people, are going to try and make your voice heard. What happens? Nothing; you can't even hear your own voice! That's all voting is, if it really is making your voice heard.
The last frequent claim that pro-voters will give you is that voting is action taken, whereas not voting is inaction. Choosing inaction is an action in and of itself! I choose not to vote. I choose the action of sitting on the couch watching television rather than choosing the action of standing in line for hours on end waiting to punch a hole in a piece of card-stock. That's not too hard to understand.
Your voice in America is nothing more than a mirage that is projected onto the wall by none other than your American government. They let you feel important by getting in your car to "make your voice heard" while they sit behind closed doors and make exponentially-more important decisions than anything you'll ever have to make concerning the country. Don't fool yourself, save your time and gas money by staying in on election day. You'll be glad you did, and the polls will certainly not be missing you.
Written by and © 2006 Bill Baer (http://baerwcb.tripod.com/).
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its sad because 50% of Americans arent informed about the government enough to be qualified to vote and about half or more of those 50% dont even bother to vote. I know a lot of people around me who I try to discuss government with and they say they ddn't even vote in the past election. :-( ~<3~Love and be loved!~<3~
The only flaw in your theory is that if everyone had that attitude then nobody would vote and our democratic system would collapse. We have to foster a sense of responsibility, not apathy, if we want to survive as a nation.
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Why wouldn't you vote when so many people have died for the right for you to vote? Why wouldn't you want your voice to be heard? It is part of you american rights to vote. I can't belive anyone would say that voting isn't important.
Exactly. A vote is the ultimate way of making one's voice heard. It just seems strange to say that it "doesn't matter".
Exercising the right to vote is the duty and responsibility of every citizen in this great nation. Please do not take your liberty for granted. Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and it is the apathetic attitudes of people like yourself who are the reason we have such poor voter turnout. I agree with the assesment that half of the people in the country are ignorant when it comes to knowledge of the candidates. But this is not an excuse, they should be informed and have some interest when it comes to matters of political importance. So please, for the sake of our great democracy -- Go Vote!
Snoopy, when less people vote, the value of the vote is, in turn, increased. When my vote is actually worth something -- as I said, the closest election was in 2000, which was decided by 537 votes in Florida -- then maybe I'll vote.
Crystalj, it may be my right as an American to vote, but I reserve the right to exercise it. Voting is an illusion of power that the government gives you; it means nothing in the long run. Even if your vote did matter, you're choosing between a Democrat and a Republican, both of whom likely don't match your ideals in the macrocosm. When I have the ability to vote for someone who does represent my ideals, then I might also consider voting. The Democrats don't take stands and wait for the Republicans to slip up, and the Republicans don't care about their constituents -- they're big business.
Voting is not my duty/responsibility, "conservative delight." Nowhere in the Consitution does it say that all Americans have to vote, and nor is it in any state's bylaws. I reserve the right to sit at home and not vote (and yet, it's still as productive). It is not apathetic -- apathy is not caring; I care. I care enough to know that my vote means nothing, so I save my time and gas money by not voting.
And our "democracy" is not great. It's turning more and more into an autocracy -- a theocracy, as well -- every day. We are no different than the U.S.S.R. that we feared during the Red Scare in the McCarthyism era.
Suppose someone actually remains consistent with their campaign promises, as many politicians do. Don't let bad politicians ruin the rep of good ones. I vote for someone based on their leanings, not necessarily what they "promise," because it is more important to decide what the person would do should this situation arise. Also i disagree when you say Bush has butchered this country, and in my opinion he is one of the best presidents we have ever had.
Are you talking about the current Bush?? The President Bush who can barely speak coherently?? The same Bush that was suppose to be searching for Bin Laden, but some how got completly side tracked, and seem to no longer care about the man respondible for 9/11?? The one that was searching for Weapons of Mass Destruction that never existed?? The same man with the evil villainous laugh?? Are you kiding?
he is one of the best presidents we have ever had.
That's the overstatement of the millennium.
He's corrupt, religious, ignorant, narrow-minded, and that's just the icing on the cake of President Bush.
He butchered the Hurricane Katrina response, he butchered our operation in Iraq, he's put this country into a multi-trillion dollar deficit.
And he's the best President? Sorry, but if it's anyone recent, it has to be Clinton. While Clinton did mess up as any President does, his mistakes were small and controlled. Clinton took this country out of its deficit.
The problem with Bush is that he's too religious. He's too sure of himself that God hand-picked him and never double-checks his decisions. He's focusing on minor issues like gay marriage and abortion rather than committing his attention to protecting this country and being successful in Iraq.
He's probably the WORST President America has ever had.
You claim that Bush is narrow-minded when in fact it is you that is the narrow minded individual in this conversation. Pease tell me how you can slam someone simply because they are religious -- that is the most narrow minded thing I have ever heard. Being religious is a positive thing due to the fact that it means Bush is morally guided in his decisions. 83% of people in this country are Christian, Bush is just a microcosm of the majority of people in this country. If you want to criticize him for the Katrina response that is fine, but no president would have been able to handle the situation any better due to the fact that it was an isolated tragedy that is without historical precedent.
If you could get off of Clinton's nuts for a second you would realize that he had to do absolutely nothing during his presidency. The economy was running itself and was fueled by the dot com boom that caused the stock market to produce record returns. If anyone deserves credit for the economic prosperity of the 90's it's Alan Greenspan. And I'm not sure what your definition of "small and controlled" is, but committing adultery in the oval office and then following it up with perjury is not my defintion of small and controlled.
Lets just hope all the Democrats continue to think the way this person does so only the Republicans vote and keep winning more elections. Jeb Bush 2008!!