The Vote

[Jasmin 0]

After reading a few of the threads here I thought of posing the question: do you think voting is a total waste of time? Why?

xj

"I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

[Jasmin 0]

My personal answer is that the entire point of voting is to keep the worst party out not to get your favourite party in.
One only needs to look at countries where citizens are denied the right to have a say in the leadership and policies of their nation, to begin to see how lucky we are to have this right.
Throughout history, people have fought for this right: Australian Aboriginals didn't recieve the vote until the 1960's, the suffragettes thought it worth their hunger strikes and demonstrations.
So why is it that we, the lucky-but-apathetic-as-sh*t, are unable to appreciate it?
Myanmar/Burma, where the attrocities and massacres don't even make a dent on the outside world's radar (eg Tiananmen square-esque April 1989 crack down on protestors and all medical staff/aid workers who attempted to help the injured!?)
China. Where do I start?![:-(]
Zimbabwe, where Mugabe seems to have an inability to understand that free-and-fair elections aren't meant to be run like his free-and-fair land-reforms!
We seem to take so much for granted!

xj

"I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with the earth...but then I wouldn't recommend picking a fight with a car either, and that's having tried both."

[skydiverbrian 0]

I vote at EVERY election. But I don't believe that my vote counts any more than I believe any politician gives a rats ass what I think. Our government ceased to be "representative" before I was born. You have to have money and the power that goes with it if you expect to hold office. That's what wins elections. My vote goes into a box and then I never see it again. I don't know who supposedly counts it, nor would I trust them anyway. Government is business. The rich have always survived off the poor and the poor are lulled into complacency by becoming convinced that they're not poor and that the "dream" is reachable. Give me a nice house and a Beemer and send my kids to college and I'll believe I'm living the dream. Somehow I'll lose sight of the fact that I don't know my spouse, my kids are on drugs, and I'm one small step from living in a cardboard box. But that's okay, because I vote and President Bush really cares about me.

In a world full of people, only some want to fly... isn't that crazy! --Seal

[FallRate 0]

There seems to be a feeling that because very few people vote, voting is not important. But keep in mind that as less votes are cast, the weight of each vote increases. And political parties, regardless of their budgets and abilities to control the media, will always be subject to the vote. (For those of you who are itching to respond with references to the '00 Presidential Election, please put the pacifier back in your mouth and refrain from displaying your ignorance.) If you don't think your vote counts, please do stay away from the polls and let mine count even more!

By the way, voter registration drives are designed to get at those who are too damn lazy to walk to the Post Office. Do we really need these people to vote? (Again, in an effort to fend of attacks, those who are incapable of walking to the Post Office are not the focus of voter registration drives.)

FallRate

[bivar 0]

I also vote at every election. But after the last election for parlament I have loft a lot of faith in our "democracy". The party that I voted for have after the election turned around in almost every issue that is important to me. They do not keep their promises to make cars cheaper, they do not keep their promises to make kindergarden for my kids cheaper, education is getting more expensive, gasoline isn't getting any cheaper. Norway has got more oil resources than the rest of Europe added together, and still a gallon of gasoline cost something more than $4.5. I live in one of the richest countries on the globe, but we can't seem to afford having a police force large enough to make our streets safe. Crime is rising in Norway.
Do you know what the maximum sentence for first degree murder is in Norway? Two years ago two litle girls, 9 and 10 years of age, were sodomized and brutally slayed by two guys. They were sentenced to 17 and 21 years in jail, where 21 year is the maximum in Norway. They'll probably get released in 10-15 years time. Do you see that happen in The US or UK? No way.
Our politicians doesn't do anything about this. It seem like my vote does not count at all. Don't know if i bother to vote at the next election.

I vote for me as world dictator. Free skydiving (and beer) to everyone. BI for president.

BI

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[Dumpster 0]

I also vote in every election- No matter what my vote weighs, it's still my vote. I've been toseveral different countires, and let me tell you, we got it made here in the US! I tell people this- If you didn't or don't vote, don't complain about who's in office!

Easy Does It

[skreamer 1]

Quote

do you think voting is a total waste of time?

I think we should vote on it, but then those who don't probably wouldn't....

[meatmissile 0]

At the last general election here in South Africa ('94 I think), I was sitting on the ramp of a C-130 Hercules over Pretoria (it is always a public holiday when elections take place). Well, I looked down at the long queue's outside the schools and town halls... Y'know, like Jethro Tull's minstrel in the gallery (although I didn't "meet the gazes or observe the faces") but you get the drift

Priorities, priorities....

--
ZZZzzzz....

[skymedic 0]

Just remember our gov't(at least the US) is a Republic, NOT a true democracy.....so your vote only will go so far....on that note..I believe it is our civic duty to vote EVERY election. and remember those small elections in your own town and state will effect you more than any national election ever will..

Marc
otherwise known as Mr.Fallinwoman....

[wlie 0]

Quote

My personal answer is that the entire point of voting is to keep the worst party out not to get your favourite party in.

So why is it that you vote for a someone? Shouldn't it be the opposite?

Here's what I'd like to see in happen, like it will:

Say you don't like any of the candidates, instead of having to vote for the least popular, you can vote against the one you most dislike. That'll take one vote away from their count.

My other ride is the relative wind.

[billvon 3,109]

>After reading a few of the threads here I thought of posing the
>question: do you think voting is a total waste of time? Why?

No, in fact, I think it's absolutely critical. It is the one thing that keeps a check on our political leaders. Voter apathy is one of the things that evil men count on; "why vote?" is one of the reasons they can keep their jobs.

Of course, it goes hand in hand with another critical part of the issue, which is voter education. I think a person is well-advised to ignore every single piece of candidate propaganda they get and instead do your own research. Read what the candidate himself writes. Read past interviews. Read independent opinions of both of them. Check their voting record (it's a public record.) Talk to people you know well about them. Form your own opinion of them; only then will the vote represent the will of the people and not the money spent on campaign ads.

Is it hard and time consuming? Yes, often it is, although the net makes such things easier. It is the price we have to pay if we want to have a true republic, one that is responsive to the desires of its citizens.

[Skyrad 0]

Hi Jasmin,

Recently the French version of the Nazi party almost got their top man in Frances top political job, why? Because the people didn't bother to vote first time round and the Nazi supporters did. Yes its important to vote.

When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

[skybytch 273]

Voting is not a waste of time. While one persons vote may not mean much in a national election (like the US presidency), it really can make a big difference in a local race (think city/county councils, school boards, judges, in some areas sheriffs).

Voting is a privilege, not a right - ask any convicted felon who can't vote about that. That said, I personally haven't voted in years. I realized long ago that my vote didn't mean much in a national race and over the last 8 years I haven't cared enough about any place that I've lived to bother voting on local issues/candidates.

Since I don't exercise my privilege to vote, I don't express my opinions on political topics very often - not because I'm worried that someone will give me shit for not voting, but because I'm usually not interested in, and therefore not educated on, the topic being discussed.

Which is better - a person who votes even though they don't know anything about the issues/candidates they are voting on, or a person who doesn't vote because they don't know enough about the issues to make an educated choice?