For the next few elections, I am proposing something new: don’t vote. Now, to many this may sound blasphemous or unpatriotic. They will say you are not doing your civic duty and such actions are un-American. Growing up, I was indoctrinated over and over by teachers, family, friends, media, etc. to vote; even if you are not happy about candidates or the platform, still vote. This is the power of the citizen. This is how our Republic functions and this democratic experiment continues.
Well, I have news for everyone; we are no longer a Republic. Try oligarchy, at best. The corporations’ control our representatives; lobbyists have legitimized their ability not to “influence” but out right buy politicians against our interests. I am sorry to break this to everyone, but your vote does not matter.
I do not say this proudly but with a bit of heartache and dismay. I grew up believing we were this nation that exhibited exceptionalism. Those beliefs were shattered as I began to see what was truly going on.
I am not going to say that all our representatives are bad or have sold themselves out; some have maintained their integrity, this is without a doubt. One of my personal heroes is Dr. Ron Paul, who was one of the few consistent voices in Congress.
So back to the main point, why not vote?
The notion that has been systematically indoctrinated into me and millions of my fellow citizens was if you don’t vote then you can’t complain. Simultaneously, we saw the “Get the Vote Out” campaign marketed by famous actors, athletes, etc. Here is the problem: if I vote then I can’t complain because I legitimated the system, gave it mandate, and chose one of the two candidates who in reality are almost always monolithic but use social issues as a wedge to fool the masses.
If I do not vote, then I have all the right in the world to complain. By not voting, I am dissenting not to an issue or topic or war but to the system and mechanisms that have institutionalized corruption and the business oligarchy.
Howard Zinn, not Thomas Jefferson, once said that dissent is the greatest form of patriotism. By withholding our votes we are sending a message that the masses have finally awaken from the stupor and state of ignorance.
Today our system is made of two parties, the Democrats and Republicans. What we can attribute as difference between them is what their stance is on social issues, which in reality should not affect us on a national level. This should be a local/state issue. Yet, these two parties have ingeniously spun the political process around such issues instead of matters of the economy, foreign affairs, and other urgent and national issues. They have shut out all third parties for ever having a chance in national stage. So, how will not voting help?
The recent ascent of the Republicans into control of both Houses will not be any different than what we have seen before yet people think somehow change will come. Sorry, it is more of the same.
It will steal the claim, which all candidates of both sides always mention, they have a mandate. No longer will they have a mandate. When turnout is low, they cannot claim anything and when this continues for a few election cycles, then they will realize change is needed. The system they claim to have been leading will no longer exist.
Democracy has not failed; instead it will be thriving because we are using the ballot box to express our frustrations and anger by eliminating their purpose and “mandate” for existence.
Again, if there is a third party candidate in your area, vote for them rather than a Republican or Democrat. If any third party candidate shares your ideology, be it Libertarian, Green party, etc. vote for them. When we kick the bums to the street and take away their raison d’être they will have no choice but to change. The people will be able to retake their country and put America on the principles that made us great.
So as for the 2016 election, think about the candidates and ask if they are truly your representative; does he/she represent adequate views for the interest of your family, society, and country? Or is he/she another prostitute of the lobbying mechanism that has not only embedded itself in the system but institutionalized itself like a 4th branch of government without any checks or balances upon it.
As we come to this election, think about the founding philosophy of this nation, how the founding fathers despised politicians and making politics a career rather than a public service, for a limited term, to better one’s nation.
They did not believe in foreign entanglements yet we have weaved a web of foreign interactions all over the world.
Look at your candidates and right away ignore the ones from the two main parties. If none are to your satisfaction then stay home, dissent.
This grassroot and peaceful revolution will allow us to take back what was granted to us by the founders of this nation. The continuation of one of the greatest experiment in mankind that began 238 years can still go ahead but it’s up to us.
Don’t vote!
Not voting does not display nor is an exercise in dissent. By not voting, you aren’t showing disapproval with the system because you are not actively participating in the one facet of the system that gives you the sway over that system. It says nothing of the legitimacy of the system because you were given a chance to actually have a say and instead chose not to. The system today is also much more open and inclusive than when it was originally set up under the framers (who you elected to deify in your piece).
By not voting you are ensuring that those whom you do not agree with will probably win and by a wider margin (potentially leading them to claim a wider mandate). You are also spitting in the face of all those in history who fought for suffrage.
Turnout among eligible voters during the recent midterm was less than 37%. The problem isn’t that we have too much voter participation, it’s that we have too few participating. If more people didn’t follow your advice, then we could have people more reform-minded about the election process (which has many flaws) in office.
A much more powerful and significant proposition would be vote and write in “None”. If that even got 10% of the vote, it would be more powerful and say more than any marginal third party candidate would. It would be action positive, showing initiative, and speaking to people. What you are advocating for is not non-action, which shows nothing at all.
Mr. Rbuck,
I appreciate your comments and opinions, thank you for them. Second, I wanted to add a few points to Mr. Hammond’s response, which I could not have responded better than.
So for the X amount of elections you have partook in, what have you got out of that? What has changed? What sway over the system are you referring to? Corporations and big money have ALWAYS out powered us in the system and the Citizen United did not help our sway anymore.
I would not say I defied the founder, that is a bit of an exaggeration and nor do I justify ALL their doings. They were slave owners and committed out right racism in many cases, there is no denying this but with respect to the context at hand is what I was alluding to them for.
To be clear, I am not saying don’t ever vote just don’t vote for a Democrat or Republican. Please let’s be clear about this. Our democracy is a testament to our dedication to the people who have fought and persevered for suffrage. I can turn the argument around and say by partaking in this current system and continuously endorsing a Republican for a few years and then a Democrat, you are spitting in their face by making a mockery of that system.
Yes, turnout was low, actually at its lowest in 70+ years. This is a sign of the overall discontent with voters. I know all the information pertaining to how mid-terms are typically lower than general, etc. etc. but being this low should signify something. But even with that 37% turnout, the Republicans (and it would be the same if the situation was reversed with Democrats) are claiming a mandate against Obama. The majority if not overwhelming majority of America is done with all these wars especially in and around the Middle East but here we go again. The Republicans with their “mandate” are igniting the war machine that President Obama kept alight despite claiming he would reverse course. I am even hearing talks about starting conflict with the Russians. So what has swayed? Again I am not saying do not vote for, just for the two main parties, if there is a viable third party go for it otherwise sit and not vote. Yes putting “None” is a more pro-active measure but that option is not available nor will it ever be just like the way the two parties have managed to exclude all 3rd party candidates from debates, etc. So we can only do so much with the current power we have which is to withhold our votes.
Yes, it certainly does and is, quite by definition.
Two fallacies here. One, this is a non sequitur. Even if it was true that not voting was not participating in the one facet of the system that gives you sway, it wouldn’t follow that no voting does not show disapproval with the system. Two, as the author pointed out, voting simply legitimizes your own disenfranchisement.
Same two fallacies.
In terms of who is allowed to participate in their own disenfranchisement, yes. The system today is also much more corrupt and unbound by the constitutional chains the framers sought to bind government with.
This is a puzzling argument. I can only assume you are coming from the “vote for the lesser of evils” paradigm — as though it was incumbent upon us to vote for evil when we do in fact have the choice not to do so.
How that is a problem, given the nature of the system as already discussed, I fail to see. The problem, rather, is that too many people choose to legitimize the system by voting.
Nonsense. This does not follow. Quite the contrary, an even higher voter turnout simply indicates to the establishment that it has ample political capital to maintain the status quo or escalate its criminal behavior.
But this would signal your acquiescence to the system and affirm your acceptance of the legitimacy of its process. Whereas simply not voting shows not “nothing at all” but a great deal: it shows you do not acquiesce to the system, that you do not accept its legitimacy.
I agree with the author, don’t vote in national elections.
When the electorate gives its consent to a candidate in national elections they also acknowledge the process as a bonafide system of representative democracy.
However the electoral system is purposefully designed to vote ‘for’ and not against a candidate. There is no, “None of the Above” option.
What is a citizen to do when none of the candidates are desirable? Writing in “None” is not counted as a vote. The national electoral system becomes a defacto Hobson’s choice and subverts the power of the people to control their own government.
The only way to stop this corruption is to deny Washington any legitimacy and credibility which can only be done peacefully by not participating in the rigged electoral system.
Do not give the elitists the mandate to continue with their perfidy and theft of our freedoms, wealth and property.
rbuck: “By not voting you are ensuring that those whom you do not agree with will probably win…”
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I voted for years and those with whom I did not agree won every time. They’re called Democrats and Republicans. As I once heard activist Dick Gregory say, “It doesn’t matter which party is in, the same handful of manipulators take care of business.”
Recent history has proven him correct.
At a certain point I simply realized that my fellow citizens and I are being “played,” and voting for a president based on the “lesser of two evils” paradigm made me feel like a fool. Since the same plutocrats and their
corporations fund–and thus control–both parties, these interests win every time no matter who is installed as the puppet president. Voting for president gives people the illusion of political engagement, but it’s only illusion—and an effective pacifier.
Incidentally, I do vote on ballot initiatives and in local elections, so I’m not yet completely jaded…. My comments refer specifically to presidential “elections.”
No longer voting for president was for me a conscious decision, not a matter of laziness or indifference. It reflects my conviction that the game is rigged, and I find it ethically repugnant to pretend a rigged game is legitimate.
As novelist Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. said in his novel, Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons, “The two real political parties in America are the Winners and the Losers. The people don’t acknowledge this. They claim membership in two imaginary parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, instead.”
I believe that when a person when campaigning for any office makes promises, that he should be held legally responsible for every promise made. Each promise being a legal agreement between the voters and the job applicant.
I live in the phoney democracy downunder, where voting is compulsory and refusing to vote can result in a fine. Civil disobedience by refusing to vote in protest at our corrupt system has become requisite, and I now view elections as little more than expensive but meaningless charades in which indistinguishable egos vie for recognition in a glorified popularity contest.
By not voting all you’ve said is that you don’t care enough to oppose the people in charge. So move along, you have nothing else to say.
It is not at all clear to me how participating in their system and legitimizing the criminal policies of the people in charge shows that one cares enough to oppose the system and the criminal policies of the people in charge. This is cognitive dissonance.
On your part perhaps. I’ve been trying to vote in third parties, but no one else shows up, because of this foul reasoning that just abandons their social and civic responsibility when it actually counts.
Ah, yes, the “social and civic responsibility” to participate in and legitimize the system. Such “foul reasoning” to decline to do so.
If you have no sense of social or civic responsibility, then I really don’t want you to vote anyway.
What a silly conclusion to draw based on my statement. I guess it wasn’t obvious enough to you that you and I have a different idea of what it means to have “social or civic responsibility”. Hopefully now that is clear.