If you, the reader, happened to vote in this election why did you do so? From a purely logical point of view the probability that one vote swings an election is minuscule. Sixty one percent of Americans voted in this election, but logically only a few should actually vote.
One of my many cynical views is that people have a need to feel that they are significant. The United States is a democracy and your vote counts, even if we all know that in reality doesn't. The other side of this argument is that we need something to blame for our problems. If you voted for the "correct" candidate and the country takes a turn for the worse its not your fault. You voted for the other guy!
What people fail to recognize is that while their vote doesn't count, that doesn't mean that they don't matter. The choices each of us make every day affect our lives more dramatically than a lifetime of voting. Voting does not make America great, voting has simply allowed for the preservation and creation of our rights. This country has been made strong by generations of citizens looking out for their own well being. The act of voting does not guarantee prosperity, only fighting for ones own personal well being can do that, and through that fight everyone gains.
So next election don't vote, spend that time pondering how you can make your own life better, and through that simple act you will accomplish the goal of voting, making everyone's lives better.
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1 comment:
(pardon my commenting on an old post)
The problem is that the system breaks if no-one votes.
That's not to say one vote is significant, nor do I believe that "if we all band together, we can make a difference," however the system does rely on some marginal level of participation.
Are we at risk of breaking that system? No. And since the vast majority of individuals who don't vote are politically unaware or universally apathetic--rather than ponderous--your recommendation poses no significant risk.
But it seems to me that since voting is so painless, why not participate in a system that the majority of us--save, perhaps, the anarchists and autocrats--believe in?
It seems to me you could vote, and yet still spare a few of the 1,440 minutes in an election day to work to improve your own life.
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