Why I don't vote

[Undertoad]

So I will not be a part of this.

[sexobon]

[Devil's Advocate]

You're also not a part of the majority, of either party, who said "never." That means the minority of either party, which advocates violence, can claim your no-vote as implied consent; otherwise, you would have voted for the party that least advocates violence to indicate your intentions toward reversing the trend.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[fargon]

If you do not vote you can not complain about politicians.
If you don't vote don't bitch.

[lumberjim]

my non vote is a vote for reform of the whole 2 party system. I also don't bitch much.

[Ibby]

Originally Posted by lumberjim

my non vote is a vote for reform of the whole 2 party system.

"reform" isnt the word i'd use but yeah this is where i'm at. it helps that i live in a state where my presidential vote literally could not matter less, admittedly.

neither party is interested in fixing any of the problems I think need to be fixed, neither party is interested in earning my vote, neither party is willing to run candidates i can bring myself to vote for... so neither party gets my vote. they dont get to play good-cop bad-cop for my vote, bully me into rooting for the good cop cause at least he isn't the bad cop! theyre still both cops, and still both have it out for me. neither one is my friend.

[Griff]

There seems to be a reshuffle a couple election cycles out. Biden is pretty centrist and he only holds the left by being not Trump. The GOP has lost their centrists and are now a fringe party more a personality cult than anything else. Can the Democrats hold labor, big business, and minorities together? It seems unlikely. When the GOP blows apart, where do the pieces land? Independent farmers, small business, and cultural conservatives will be looking for a home.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Griff

The GOP has lost their centrists and are now a fringe party more a personality cult than anything else.

Any previous Republican candidate for president was not or would not be invited to their convention. All previous presidential nominees were too centrist - too moderate - too patriotic American. The hate that dominates the Republican part is now that great. KKK, White Supremacists, Nazi, Kim Jung-un supporters, Putin - all were welcome.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Violence against whom? Immigrants trying to sneak in? Countries trying to defeat us? People trying to vote? That's a pretty loose question.

If you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem.
There is no neutral with trump, your approve of his antics or you don't.
Violence? Are they going to put a bullet in your mail in ballot?
Don't care one way or the other? Ask what you can do for your countrymen.
Neither one will fix the things you want fixed? Which one will hurt you the most?

Every vote matters this time, it really does.

[Undertoad]

If you do not vote you can not complain about politicians.

i tried it and it turns out i still can

don't know who is propagating this myth

[Undertoad]

Violence against whom?

Judging by current events, any available target. If people aren't available to be lynched, inanimate objects will do

Neither one will fix the things you want fixed?

The division of the country is the worst problem we face. Declaring all must take a side is ironic

The problem precedes Dear Leader and will continue to grow after he is gone

[footfootfoot]

Voting for the lesser of two evils sucks and it seems to perpetuate the two party system. On the other hand, not voting for the lesser of two evils, especially in this country often is the equivalent of voting for the greater of two evils.


If I may make an analogy:


Suppose you are hitchhiking from PA to Maine. One car stops and says he's heading to Florida and he can take you as far as you want to go in that direction. Another car stops and says he's going to New Hampshire. Neither of them is going to Maine, but the New Hampshire driver is getting you closer to Maine. Let's say he was only going to New York, still closer to Maine.



Government is like that. Change happens incrementally; there are never direct rides to where *you* want to go so you have to make the journey step by step. Republicans have been playing the long game; they've been slowly working towards gaining control of the courts, which means gaining more control of the legal system especially when the house and senate belong to them.



Yes, the government needs serious reform and/or an outright replacement of all the politicians and newer, updated rules, but not voting won't get you any closer to where you want to go. On the other hand, voting won't really get you any closer but it may prevent you going in the wrong direction.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

If I may make an analogy:

The problem with the analogy is you're already in the car, and picking the driver.

[Ibby]

sure. but if one's going to florida and the other one's going straight to hell, i'm not getting in either of those cars.

[Undertoad]

there is no maine, the "things I would want" include many things from each side

Republicans have been playing the long game; they've been slowly working towards gaining control of the courts, which means gaining more control of the legal system especially when the house and senate belong to them

how terrible of them to win elections like that. evil

[monster]

The only real reason not to vote is if you're benefitting from the status quo and don't want to lose that, but know deep inside it's wrong. Not voting lets you kid yourself you're not condoning it. Make up any BS excuse you like. Fact remains you are. You just maybe don't have the chutzpah to admit it.

Either you like how it is -inequity, immorality and all- or you vote for change. You vote for who most closely represents the change you want to see, and then you lobby them to see things more your way. Abstaining is not a protest. Voting for your write-in "The Whole System Sucks" might be. Not voting is a wuss out for those who don't want to admit the privilege afforded to them by pure chance of their color, gender, or birth circumstances, because they know deep inside that it is wrong, but don't have the courage to sacrifice a little that others might gain a lot.

If you feel so deeply that there are things so wrong with all the candidates that you cannot support any of them, then you stand yourself. If you know enough to feel this way, then you are clearly qualified enough, and to get to that level of enlightenment you have also clearly benefitted enough from society that you have a moral obligation to repay a little, by setting it a better track.

And yes, you can moan and whine about the elected politicians even if you don't exercise your right to vote. But you have no moral grounds to do so.

Basically, not voting is immoral. And if you're fine with that, nothing is going to change it. But you're just kidding yourself that you're taking the higher ground.