We hear it all the time. Even Puff Daddy tells us to “vote or die”.
I’m of the opinion that unless you know enough about the policies of all of the candidates running, and whether or not these policies are feasible, you should STAY AWAY from voting.
I think voting just for the sake of voting, when you don’t know shit about politics (as I don’t) is:
A waste of time.
More harmful than good.
Why should people vote for someone they know nothing about? People get caught up in the marketing schemes of each of the campaigns and think they know what they are talking about, but in reality haven’t even watched any of the political debates. These commercials take advantage of the average moron and sway their vote to one side or the other, when in fact that person has no knowledge on what they are actually voting on.
Now, you could make the argument that as a responsible American adult, people should take the time and effort to learn about each candidate, watch the political debates, and vote for a side they feel better about. With this I agree and disagree, but I think it’s a whole other topic by itself. For now I just wanted to say that if you don’t know shit about politics (which the average American doesn’t), then stay away from the polls this year and let the people who know what they are voting on take care of business.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
As a Christian, I’m not supposed to indulge in such matters. But it’s one temptation I can’t refuse.
I’m voting for the lesser of 2 evils, like every other voter here will be doing. [/quote]
Due to the recent endorsement by Ron Paul, I’ll be voting for Chuck Baldwin. I was in the air between him and Barr, but Barr did have me feeling unsettled, so I’m happy Dr Paul sided with one of them.
This is not voting for the lesser of 2 evils, it’s voting for someone who will start the country on an actual road to recovery, one with less government and more freedom. If the constitution doesn’t allow it, they government can’t do it.
[quote]Vegita wrote:
Iron Dwarf wrote:
As a Christian, I’m not supposed to indulge in such matters. But it’s one temptation I can’t refuse.
I’m voting for the lesser of 2 evils, like every other voter here will be doing.
Due to the recent endorsement by Ron Paul, I’ll be voting for Chuck Baldwin. I was in the air between him and Barr, but Barr did have me feeling unsettled, so I’m happy Dr Paul sided with one of them.
This is not voting for the lesser of 2 evils, it’s voting for someone who will start the country on an actual road to recovery, one with less government and more freedom. If the constitution doesn’t allow it, they government can’t do it.
V[/quote]
I think if Paul were to change his stance on the war, not be such an isolationist, and not be such an ass about getting back on the gold standard - I would not have a problem supporting him.
“It’s always a contest between the evil party and the stupid party and every once and a while they come together and do something both stupid and evil and call it bipartisanship.”
The kind of person who refuses to vote due to having insufficient information is probably more informed overall than the average voter. The difference is that he recognizes his ignorance, while the average person doesn’t.
So is it better to leave the country’s destiny in the hands of people who are so ignorant that they don’t even realize it?
I don’t think so. Choosing not to vote is surrendering to the will of someone who is probably even more ignorant than you.
I see voting as a civic responsibility, and self-education is part of that responsibility as well.
There are plenty of offices to vote for other than the president. I will probably write someone in for the presidential candidate; frankly I don’t care for either McCain of Obama, and I don’t like the “lesser of two evils” approach. That doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be other important things on the ballot.
There will be things on the ballot that may make an immediate impact on your life. Here in MA, we have three ballot initiatives, two of which will affect me personally. I can’t guarantee that it will be the same for you since I don’t know where you’re from, but you never what might be on the ballot until you go fill one out.
A “waste of time”? Please. Voting is not very time consuming, and you only have to do it once a year, or even only once every four years. If you have the time to amass over 1200 posts on T-Nation, you should have the time to make it to your local polling place and chime in. Whether you are knowledgeable about politics or not, this is your country and your home. Are you really so complacent that you’re willing to let the “people who know politics” make your decisions for you?
[quote]timbofirstblood wrote:
There are plenty of offices to vote for other than the president. I will probably write someone in for the presidential candidate; frankly I don’t care for either McCain of Obama, and I don’t like the “lesser of two evils” approach. That doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be other important things on the ballot.
There will be things on the ballot that may make an immediate impact on your life. Here in MA, we have three ballot initiatives, two of which will affect me personally. I can’t guarantee that it will be the same for you since I don’t know where you’re from, but you never what might be on the ballot until you go fill one out.
A “waste of time”? Please. Voting is not very time consuming, and you only have to do it once a year, or even only once every four years. If you have the time to amass over 1200 posts on T-Nation, you should have the time to make it to your local polling place and chime in. Whether you are knowledgeable about politics or not, this is your country and your home. Are you really so complacent that you’re willing to let the “people who know politics” make your decisions for you? [/quote]
It is truly a sad commentary on the state of this nation when you actually have to post this.
To not participate in the democratic process when you are called to do so is pure idiocy.
There was an election held the other day for a tax roll back for a large school district near where I live. There are over 20,000 kids in that particular school district, and only 3600 people turned out to vote.
Equating participation in the democratic process with presidential elections is beyond stupidity. Yet, here we have an entire fucking thread dedicated to it.
I’m of the opinion that unless you know enough about the policies of all of the candidates running, and whether or not these policies are feasible, you should STAY AWAY from voting.
[/quote]
I agree. My first political science professor would repeat this same thing many times to us during the semester. He also stressed the importance of not letting an R or a D in front of someone’s name influence your decision. He said people that vote this way are extremely dangerous to the process.
I think that before you get to vote, in any election, you should prove competency in the form of some sort of test. You should know who your representative in Congress is, you should know the structure of local and state governments, and how laws are passed. I also think that before you can vote in any presidential election, you should have at least voted once in a local or state election.
This election is going to be scary. I predict a record turnout of brain dead zombies who will be voting simply on novelty factor, whether it be vote for the black guy because he’s black, or vote for a democrat because Bush and the republicans destroyed the universe, or vote for the guy with the pretty smile… Whatever the case, a lot of people who should NOT be voting, will be.
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
What good is an education if the information is bogus to begin with?
What good are the words of professional liars?
The fact that people can’t easily educate themselves is part of the problem.[/quote]
I still think we have the responsibility to gather information from a variety of news sources and make up our own minds on which candidate will be best for our country.
Besides, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know which presidential candidate reflects your values, even when you don’t know all the nitty gritty details. I realize that is an oversimplification since there is no such thing as the “perfect candidate”, but on broad issues it is usually a no brainer.
I know that Obama reflects my core values more than McCain. There are some issues where I agree more with McCain than with Obama, but overall it is an easy choice for me.
It still blows me away that in a country of 300 million, we can’t do better with our selection of presidential candidates. Still, I think this election we have a better lineup than in any I can personally remember. While I would rather see Obama win over McCain, either one is a huge improvement over the current administration.
I’m sorry, but too many of my people fought, bled and died so that I could have the right to vote. For me, it is not just a civic duty, but a duty to my family and my people who sacrificed so much for me to have this right. I understand the “lesser of two evils” thing and have felt this way on many occasions. But voting, if anything else, gives me the right to complain and try to change things. Sitting around bitching about things when you can’t even bother to get up off your ass and vote doesn’t help.
You have the ability to CHOOSE between voting and not voting.
If someone all of a sudden said you couldn’t vote; and things would just be forced on you by decree and/or sham “elections”; you would be willing to put your Life on the line for that right.
Democracy is messy and imperfect; but I sure wouldn’t want to live without it and the freedoms it affords… even if if I think that exercising those rights and freedoms appears to not make much of a difference.
Every once and a while, my little vote, and those who may think in the same way, DOES make a difference.
