In this election season, and probably in most others in the past, we’re told, sometimes directly, sometimes implicitly, that we as citizens must vote. It’s a duty. It’s imperative that we cast our ballots. Democracy depends on it.
Well, this is simply not the case. Suffrage is a right, to be sure. If we are to have a fair election, we all must be allowed the opportunity to vote. But a right, as we know, is not a duty.
If you despise both party-furnished presidential candidates, as I do, don’t settle, don’t compromise, don’t vote for the sake of voting. It is a temptation for many of us to run to the polls or seal our absentee ballots because the act is exciting and empowering. Yet, in the process, in the hoopla, the principles can elude us. We should remember that a vote is a symbol of an individual’s confidence in a candidate and not a show of how fashionable or anti-fashionable your politics are.
When neither the Republican nor the Democrat (nor any of the other clowns) represents your principles, the thing to do is abstain. Abstain proudly. Take a stand and voice your opinion: tell the parties that you won’t allow your principles to be drowned out by a vote of compromise.
Then again, if your principles are like putty, vote away! You probably deserve four years of the swindling fool you plan to vote for!
1 response so far ↓
1 Dave Ullman (dullman10) // Oct 30, 2008 at 8:02 pm
This is an interesting theory. I look at it somewhat differently, however.
I view voting not simply as a right, but rather as a responsibility. To me, it is similar to participating in jury duty or signing up for the Selective Service. Each citizen has a number of duties he must fulfill. I think that voting is one of these.
You could argue that voting is different from these two duties because there are no penalties for failing to vote. I would maintain that one’s responsibility is independent of its consequences. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this.
Your hypothetical (or perhaps not so hypothetical) voter is dissatisfied with all of the choices on your ballot. You indicate that he has two choices (1) compromise his principles by voting for one of them or (2) abstaining.
I see another option - he can (3) write-in his preferred candidate for the position. Surely our hypothetical voter can think of someone who would like to see in that particular office. He could even write-in his own name if he thinks that nobody else would be the right choice. If he doesn’t think that any American is qualified for the position, it seems to me that he’d be rejecting the American political system itself. In this case, voting in any situation would be paradoxical.
Ultimately, I think that if our hypothetical voter chooses not to exercise his responsibility, he becomes a civic non-participant. In a sense, he forfeits his right even to complain about his government or the services it provides.
You must log in to post a comment.