[Blake]

Originally Posted by Bree

A coworker friend and I came to the conclusion (seperately) that voting in the United States is a waste of time - not because we're liberals or conservatives, although she would technically be labelled a conservative and I a liberal, but because we think the process stinks and is a waste of our time and effort. We made buttons for our jackets that say "not voting in '04 (or ever)" and you wouldn't believe the shit that we've gotten for it.

I don't think you deserved quite that much shit, but honestly, you do deserve some shit. The fact that the process stinks doesn't change the fact that voting still is one of the most powerful political acts you can do, and frankly, it takes very little time and effort.

First of all, you have the bleeding-heart liberals who grab my hand and say "don't you know what it was like for your suffragette sisters who gave their lives for your right to vote back in the early 20th century?" Yeah, yeah. So guilt me into voting. That will really do something. Then you have the other people (don't know if they're conservatives or not but they're definately 'other') who say "this is a great country and you're spitting in its face" or "you're not really a citizen of America." I recognise that America is a great country and I think I have my certificate in my safety deposit box that says I became a citizen on 21 March 1985, thank you very much.

Yes, guilting you into voting is ridiculous. Yes, speaking in essentials, you're a citizen. However, functionally, if you don't do the things a citizen is entitled to do, then in a sense, no, you're not a citizen.

What really grabs me are the people who say "geez, you're wasting your vote - just go out and vote for Bush/Kerry, so at least Kerry/Bush doesn't get your vote." Um, how am I wasting my vote if I don't vote, versus going out and voting for someone I don't want to be president just so I use my vote? It's like having a dollar and flushing it down the toilet versus spending it on a rotten apple - either way, you don't have your dollar, except that in the second situation you're stuck with a rotten apple.

That's the result of America's winner-take-all system with two corrupt parties with a stranglehold on power: you're always voting for the lesser of two evils. Nonetheless, Kerry is so much less evil than Bush that this time around I don't think it's a close call. A half-rotten apple is so much better than a poisoned composted apple; at least you can eat half of it.

I just don't understand how not voting is seen as such a huge smear against my character. I have the right to choose and I choose not to vote. Just because I made a choice that isn't popular and that some people think is "wrong" doesn't mean that I'm suddenly an irresponsible citizen.

We have the right to choose to do all kinds of bad things. It's a smear against your character because voting is really easy to do, and despite the narrowed choices in our not-really-a-democracy, it still makes big differences. Especially since you're in Minnesota, which is a swing state this time around, so your vote for president actually does count. If you were in Massachusetts, or Georgia, or California, or any of the other states that are reliably one way or the other, I wouldn't care that much. But in a state that could go either way, it makes me pissed--especially since I don't have that chance, being in a state where my presidential vote can't influence the outcome.

It's damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't: the Repblicans think that the Democrats are wrong and irresponsible and the Democrats think the Republicans are wrong and irresponsible. So where do we fit in?

They're both wrong and irresponsible; in my informed opinion, the Democrats are less wrong and irresponsible, and especially at lower more local levels, there are sometimes actual good choices for candidate, like Greens or various independents, or even individual Democrats (or Republicans) with integrity. Non-voters fit in nowhere: they refuse to play the game, abdicating their responsibility, and consequently get shit from everyone.

I'm sorry, Bree; I just don't think you have a good justification.