Growing up, my father often said: "Those that do not vote, do not have a right to complain about the government they get." I embraced the duty of the Citizenry to participate in the election of their government. I recall later in life being relieved that the individual I had voted against had won. Between the time I had sent in my absentee ballot and the results had been posted, the world had learned that the one I had voted for was a sorry excuse for a Human that believed in the superiority of one race over another. His opponent was bad for the Nation and State as well, but he was worse.
Some have accused me of indecisiveness for refusing to join a political party and others of partisanship for opposing the policies of politicians that speak out of both sides of their mouths in the same speech. But when I admitted to one that I had not voted in every election, one person was astounded that I could ignore my duty as a citizen and still complain about the results.
I have attempted to explain why there have been elections in which I did not participate, but it has been piecemeal. More important, than the responsibility to vote, is the responsibility to know who and what you are voting for, or against. At times, I have not voted due to no fault of my own. When I relied on an absentee ballot, those ballots did not always arrive in time to be counted on return.
But there were other times, I had every opportunity to vote, and chose not to do so. I simply did not have the information I needed to vote for one politician, or against the other. I won't vote just for the letter behind the name, not even if I strongly disagree with the politician they're running against. There are even times when it is obvious a single vote won't matter at all. If you live in California, it's close to guaranteed the electoral vote will go to the Democrat in the Presidential Election, so if that's only interest you have in an election, there's really not much of a need to take a day off work and hit the polls. It is far more important in the Congressional and Senatorial Elections, but if you live in San Francisco, you can bet Pelosi will be re-elected, so again, not much need to go vote for her either.
Only the Senatorial election in 2010 looked to be close enough to warrant a trip to the polls in CA.
In many of the elections of 2012, I have noted typical political vagueness; Politicians that won't clearly state their positions on controversial issues. While I understand that it may not be politically expedient for a politician in some districts to state a position of strength on National Defense, that political vaguery means I cannot support their bid for office. It is moral cowardice on their part to not state their position, even if it is an unpopular position, particularly if it is an unpopular position.
The duty of citizenship is not to go to the polls and cast a ballot, but to know the issues, to study the positions of the issues, and vote for the most responsible candidate. At times, that means voting for the lesser of evils with a chance to win and at others it is a vote against both candidates that may have a chance of winning. At times, either a lack of information, or a lack of lesser evil, means the responsible choice means the responsible thing to do is to not cast a vote at all.
I didn't vote for County Sheriff last time either, not because I didn't care, but because I knew I didn't understand the issues, or the candidates enough to throw the lever for or against any candidate, when other citizens of the area did. And I do know that my vote for Sheriff has far more weight than my vote for President. As we approach the 2012 elections, I'm confident the State of Tennessee will vote against the incumbent in the White House, that New York and California will vote for him, and the People of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida will be the deciding vote. Sure, states that voted for the incumbent in 2008 may vote against him in 2012, but the reality is that the way a few states vote will determine the office holder in 2013.
I know there are politicians which I oppose, but I will not vote for their opponents only because of that. The memory of voting for a racist bastard, worse than his opponent I was voting against remains on my mind. And a valuable lesson was learned: it is the responsibility of a Citizen, to know who and what he is voting FOR, not just to pull the lever for a letter behind a name, not just to know who he is voting against.
It is YOUR responsibility, as a Citizen, to educate yourselves on the issues, the stakes, and the reasons why you will vote for one or the other candidate with a chance to win, not just a responsibility to go cast a ballot. And if there is NO candidate worth your time, sometimes it is best and more responsible to cast no vote at all. It is not that I espouse not voting, but that I oppose voting in ignorance. It is YOUR responsibility to know the stakes, the issues, and the candidates, and sometimes that means knowing that you just don't have the information needed to vote responsibly.
Consider, if you were an Iranian, where the government says it is your duty to vote, to choose between the various politicians assessed as "good, moral muslims" that will support the rule of the dictator, Ayatollah Khameni, and selected by him to run for office, to give them moral authority for you having voted: Is it better to have voted, or to have gone to work in protest? Consider, if you have no idea of what Congress has or has not done, if you have no idea of what politician is doing what in your name, is it really your "duty" to cast a ballot, if you haven't completed your responsibilities to know the issues?
Stumble It!
