I Didn't Vote.

Sadly, for those being so critical of the non-voters, the Constitution does, in fact, give us all the right to free speech. Voting is not a prerequisite for that right. :-)

That means you have the freedom to say that you think we're lazy. You have the freedom to say we're bad citizens. You have the freedom to insist that we explain our actions. You have the freedom to tell us that you don't think our opinions matter. You have the freedom to urge us not to complain since we didn't vote.

And lucky for those of us who decided not to vote, we still have the inalienable right to complain all we want. No matter what you say, no matter what you insist, no matter how hard you deny it, fight it, and try to make it so... we're still going to enjoy all the rights and privileges that you do... and there's not a darn thing you can do about it! :-)

So how's that make you feel?

I was gonna vote for McCain....
But I stood by....

I guess now I can't complain,
because I stood by

They say get ready for Change
And I know why

Cuz I just stood by, I just stood by, I just stood by

bottom line: my vote did not count, or else ammounted to nill/nada/zilch



i did not vote for the Democrat nor the Republican presidential candidates,
i voted Constitution Party.

i voted against all the 'Incumbants' on my precincts ballot ==>
as i was hoping for new, political blood in the life of government

the Senator & Congressman from my district voted 'FOR' the TAR
P Bailout, yet they were reelected, sheeze---the people i live amongst

reply to post by Heike

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"Now you'll tell me I should get off the bus"

No not at all but if you want to change things, change the destination, then get involved don't just sit back and moan. Join your local party, whether it be democrat or republican. Hell start your own party if you want.
Stand for election at local level, argue your points, change peoples' minds. Start a groundswell of opinion that will ripple through the party all the way up to national level. Stand for Congress and one day maybe the Senate.

'Oh it can't be done' I hear you cry 'One man cannot make a difference'. Utter guff of course they can. Margaret Thatcher forever changed (for the better) the face of the The Conservative party and the country. A grocer's daughter from Grantham, she beat all the odds and her legacy lives on to this day.

Tony Blair (with John Smith before him) changed the Labour Party from a socialist forum that was unelectable (don't believe me then read Labour's 1983 election manifesto - also known as 'the longest suicide note in history') to respectable - who ever would have thought that Labour would ditch Clause 4?

So yes it can be done, one person can change things.

Tell me something Heike, what would you rather do? Try and change things and maybe fail, but always know that you tried and, lets face it, if you don't try you will never know OR never do anything about it but moan for the rest of your life secure in the knowledge that someone really should have done something about it, just not you?

reply to post by wozza

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"To thine own self be true."

It is nice for a child to believe "I can do anything I want to," but as we mature we come to realize that we all have our limitations, our talents and skills - and areas where we lack talents and skills.

My "worst" skill set is social skills. I don't get along with most people and I abhor politics. I did try, when I was much younger, to get involved .. and I was a dismal failure.
As well ask you to improve your favorite football team by taking over as quarterback. You probably wouldn't be able to do that successfully, and I don't have the ability to do what you're suggesting.

Something that's not getting much attention in this thread, but that MemoryShock has pointed out a few times, is that voting and participating in the election process is not the only way to have a political voice or a political impact, and in the current environment may even be one of the less effective ways.

What reading the OP alerted me to was that I was using the phrase "civic duty" to refer to voting, as we've been trained to do. This implies that:

1) the American population consists of two sorts of people – those who participate and those who don't

2) if you don't vote, you don't participate

3) if you do vote, you've done all you need to do.

All three of these statements, broken down like this, are suspect.

First, I think that any time a group is asked to accept a radical dichotomization like voter vs. non-voter (or believer vs. skeptic), the status quo is reinforced because the focus turns to clearing out the middle ground rather than meeting there. Rather than listen to Mr. Shock's reasons for not voting, and assessing his arguments and his other contributions to society, people are judging his action and then dismissing reason as rationalizing.

The idea that if you don't vote, you don't participate has received some attention here, although it's been mostly in the form of who has the right to complain. Mr. Shock explicitly argues that he sees his activity here at ATS to be a part of his political action – that in devoting time to moderating this site, and thought to contributing, he is hoping to have an impact on people's awareness.

Before you dismiss this, ask yourselves whether a columnist has more real political effect by exposing his ideas to the public or by the single vote he casts.

Voting is not our only means of political action or impact.

The final statement, that if we do vote we have "done our duty" and can be satisfied, is honestly the one that has forced me to look inward the most. Because I have been guilty of looking at it that way. I don't like politics, and I'm not an activist. My life is pretty self-involved, or at least focused on those near to me rather than society as a whole.

Because I feel a responsibility to "do something" to deserve the rights I have as an American, I have voted, and then felt self-congratulatory that I've done my part, and superior to those who haven't.

And that feeling exaggerates the dichotomy and gives it a moral dimension that is hard to speak across, because no one wants to be judged. The truth is, MemoryShock has probably had more real impact politically than I have, because of his participation here (and if you haven't looked up some of his threads, I recommend doing so – they are well worth reading).

But maybe that's okay too – because it doesn't have to be contributors vs. non-contributors. We all act in our own sphere, and no matter what our actions are political whenever they affect our fellow citizens.

reply to post by Heike

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I was just about to say that

but then you said it - so I'm going to repeat it

they can call it apathy

laziness

cynicism

it doesn't take much courage not to vote

it takes courage to stand up and announce it to the world (also for you MemoryShock)

there are a lot of reasons to not vote - I consider the considered non-vote - a vote

if you do not believe in the candidates available to you - voting just to vote is, well - voting just to vote

voting the lesser of two evils is also - voting just to vote

I absolutely believe that voting is not just a right - it's a privilege

people died so that we could vote

people are dying now - and will continue to die - not just in our country, but in countries around the world

for democracy

for the right to vote

peer pressure is not a reasonable reason to vote

we're not electing a prom king

having the right to vote is also - no reason to vote

this country began with rebellion

the Constitution exists - because of rebellion

not conformity

it's not about participating

it's about voting your conscience

it's about taking a stand - even if it's not popular

no doubt - there will be an endless amount of debating - or belittling - concerning a little act of "defiance" and whether or not it means diddly squat in the grander scheme of things

I'm saying it does

I love this country - but more importantly than that - I love Democracy

without true Democracy - we don't have even the illusion of what this country is supposed to stand for

and true democracy is not just about showing up

to everyone who voted - I support your choice - regardless

because it was your choice

I voted locally - on every single thing on the ballot

I didn't vote for president

I have my reasons - they're my reasons - and I stand by them

I have to assume that others have their reasons for not voting - it all counts







[edit on 11/10/2008 by Spiramirabilis]

reply to post by Heike

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Fair point and a very honest one to make on a public forum, you certainly have my respect for that.
Perhaps I sound like a zealot as politics is something that I am involved in and I enjoy. I find that , within the party of which I am a member, many of my views are out of whack with the mainstream membership, especially as it is an aging membership. I have tried to be put forward to stand for public office and, so far, turned down as my local party don't agree with me on some, not all, issues. I stick to my guns though as I do believe and I know that there are others, mostly younger, who think the same as me. Not all of them are people who want, for any number of reasons, to stand for public office but will support me when I try again. I hope that I can persuade more of the aging members of the way the world is changing, whatever they might like or think, and that perhaps it is time that someone like me had a turn and made some changes. Maybe they will come to agree with me if I try hard enough, or maybe they will just die off ('')
My point really though is that there are any number of ways to support and action change. For every person that is happy and confident (arrogant perhaps) to stand up in public there are many many more who stand behind and help in other ways whether it is providing a sounding board for existing ideas, providing new ideas, making posters, putting fliers through letter boxes, making telephone calls or providing IT support and no campaign, at any level could survive without them.
Heike, I am not in any way having a go at you but being a public 'face' is not the only way to change things. On a forum such as ATS my espousing of working with rather than against the political system is most likely going to draw scorn from many readers but maybe I will change a mind, maybe I won't, but I am trying. I know that you say that you are disillusioned with politics and I really can see why in this day and age but I refuse to give up trying because, if we all did that, we really would be at the mercy of other people.

reply to post by wozza

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I hear you. And, without going into detail, let's just say that I do what I can locally.

I just didn't vote.

I just wanted to redirect attention to the last sentence of ADB's post (which is excellent, by the way).

And there really isn't anything I can add to it.

I've done research on this topic for many years now. I am a former US Marine and on the internet I'm a whistleblower from Kosovo so I might as well get that over with.

I will tell you, voting is absolutely an effort of futility and a waste of time. I discovered that voting on the president means nothing. The Bilderbergers have the president chosen years before the election and once their man gets the expected election they have four years to pick another that will forment their steps to world government or he will win a reelection for another four years. In the meantime, if the president is not one of the globalist he will be assigned an advisor from either the Counsel of Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission or the Bilderbergers, and in most cases member from a combination of all of them. It is based on a globalist agenda to accomplish the passage of certain acts, get us in a war with a false flag, or achieve some sort of milestone to get us one step closer to world government. NOW, if the president gets a case of religion, case of conscious, change of heart he will be assassinated or put back on track by some sort of blackmail. This is the one of the missions of the CIA or NSA is to get mud on congressman or future presidential hopefuls to ensure they do what they are told to. This is the reality supported by research over the generations.

The Illuminati plays both sides of any war and in elections as well. You are correct in not voting as writing in names, voting because of some patriotic duty, or sense of responsibility is a waste of gas and time if you know the truth. McCain, Bush, Obama, and et al are all on the same agenda pretending to be in opposition. The CFR/Bilderbergers controls all of them save a few that might be legit. The media is controlled by the CFR to play up the one they have picked for president. They play down or discredit the ones that they don't want to get the votes. If the voting actually starts pilling up for the one they have not picked up they will rig the machines or create a scam to make sure their choice is picked to make it look good. This happened in Florida for Bush and the Supreme court actually picked Bush if you recall. Bush, Clinton and Bush were to slip in the necessary invasions and acts that would lead us into a dictatorship by filing over 1,000 letters that would give the government total control over all the government offices in the case of a declared national disaster and subsequent martial law which will lead to a dictatorship and the North American Union, and new currency, AMERO. Obama it appears is the trigger that they will somehow use to spark a race or internal war that will trigger martial law being declared. The trap is set..............