The Notepocalypse 2 – Why I’m Not Voting (and Why You Shouldn’t Either)
Four years ago, I wrote The Notepocalypse. It had two main goals – explain why I was voting for Barack Obama and call out some of the stupidest political drivel I had seen written on Facebook. It proved to be a rather contentious post, attracting hundred of comments.
So here we are, four years later. And it’s time for something else controversial. Because once again, people are posting political drivel on Facebook. It really is the 21st century lawn sign.
I’m not voting this year. Not at all. I’m going to defuse some of the most common arguments, and then I’m going to explain why you shouldn’t vote either.
“If you don’t vote, then you don’t have a right to complain.” Uh, pretty sure I do. That’s freedom of speech, which is a right that I’m given regardless of whether or not I vote. A flip side of it is that if I vote for a candidate who is disappointing, I also shouldn’t complain. That’s also not true. Just because I voted for Obama in 08 doesn’t mean I don’t believe that he could have done better.
”It’s your civic duty.” Another pithy statement that doesn’t really stand up to any scrutiny. I have a right to, not a responsibility to, vote. No one is making me vote, or holding me accountable to vote. And even if it was an actual duty that just means it’s on the level of jury duty – not exactly high praise.
“This candidate honors God the best/supports more ‘Christian’ policies.” For my Christian friends, some of whom seem to have a hard time realizing that all candidates just give lip service to God. I am curious how the evangelical right will spend this election; is it okay to vote for a Mormon? If that’s okay, then why does the candidate need to be Christian at all?
“But Romans/Acts/Some Other Out of Context Verse tells me I should vote.” No they don’t. You are never asked in the Bible to participate in worldly politics, but simply to not disobey unless a law goes against God. Look at Jesus’ example – he didn’t play around with politics, but existed primarily outside of the political definitions of his day. He was appropriately respectful but also distant.
“Democracy doesn’t work if you don’t vote.” Doesn’t seem to be working all that well with the voting either! Bazing!
Okay, so I think those are the most common arguments as to why I should vote (without getting into particular ideologies). Now, here’s a bunch of reasons not to vote:
“My vote does not matter.” It’s pretty simple math. Even in the 2000 election, which came down to 600 votes or something in the state of Florida, a single vote didn’t do anything. This applies triply so if you don’t live in a “swing” state – if you’re not Ohio or Florida, you should probably save yourself the gas on Election Day.
“My vote does not matter, pt 2.” Let’s say hypothetically that your vote from the prior example did matter. You were the one special snowflake that actually decided a presidency. Great! Were you also the special snowflake that decided hundreds of congress/senate seats? How about judicial appointments? You realize that we have a whole “checks and balances” thing, right? It’s pretty clear from Obama’s last term that it’s not that hard to stymie a president legally. So even in the perfect situation – you elected yourself (who better to agree with your viewpoint), it doesn’t matter as much as you think.
“I have no idea who to vote for.” I’m not talking about presidents here, folks. There are dozens of other names/agendas/propositions on the ballot. The last ballot I cast I voted for the assistant county clerk. I have no idea if the person I voted for can handle the job. Either I vote straight party (which is dangerous, as all parties are filled with idiots) or I vote blindly, in which case a monkey could fill out my ballot.
“I only have two choices.” Well, we’ve had democratic and republican presidents in the past. They are pretty much known quantities with different faces now. What are the chances that the things that we have been doing are actually the things to get us out of the messes we’re in? The definition of insanity is, of course, doing the same thing and expecting dissimilar results. If you want to know how Obama’s second campaign will be, look at his first. If you want to know what a Romney presidency will be like, check out the last republican presidency. Until there’s an actual option for a third party, growth and change are hopeless.
“The people who I’m voting for are politicians.” It is their job, after all, to get you to vote for them. History has shown that people have a strong tendency to put their scruples behind them when they think it involves money or power. Has any president lived up to their campaign promises?
“And finally, a word about the founding fathers.” There is a dangerous misconception that because the founding fathers created a country in 1776 we should always follow what they said. Newsflash: 1770 was nearly 250 years ago. They could not have imagined the world we live in now, and the challenges that we face. Let’s all agree that they had some great ideas, but that we aren’t limited to what they said. Case in point: there’s a meme floating around Facebook that says “Let’s use our tax power to force people to do things, said no founding father ever.” That’s great. Here’s a short list of other things that the founding fathers also never said: “Maybe we should just do what the government wants, according to Romans 13.” Or “Is Facebook a good investment?” or “Mission accomplished.” And they definitely never said “Hey, what does that Black guy / Woman / Muslim / anyone but an old-white-dude think?”
Well, that’s a good start for discussion. What do you think? As a fair warning, enter into the discussion calmly and clearheadedly – stupidity will be labeled as such.
