I was going to make this in Elections, but then I thought “Yeah, but there will be a majority who will probably not like this (my viewpoint and the fact that I think and feel this way), so I figure I’ll let everyone have the chance to speak freely, even if it’s just to bash me.”
Anyway, my sole reason is, I simply don’t care who is president.
Voting is a right. That’ why it’s called the “Right to vote”. So, by that same token, I have the right not to vote as well. The way I see it, I am free and allowed to give up my right to vote if I so choose.
I have never voted before. I’m not even registered. I can’t foresee a time when I will vote. I just have a huge indifference when it comes to all things and every thing political. I have no caring in any of it whatsoever.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. The point of this is to let people ask questions and explore the mind/opinion/viewpoints of someone who is so indifferent to politics that they don’t bother having their say and to try to understand my reasoning…
…However, if you just want to insult me or pile on due to thinking I’m one of the most evil people that exists due to the fact that I don’t care to vote, well…that’s fine too, but it probably won’t receive a reply.
Not a huge deal, but I think you ought to vote. You’re not evil for not doing so, but it costs only a tiny bit of time and energy, and by not doing so you could be, ever so slightly, increasing the chances of something bad happening to decent people. Even if the statistical chance of my vote mattering are minuscule, I’m not willing to take the chance that my not voting could make it more likely that bad things could happen to immigrants, or Muslims Americans, or women, or others, and I would urge you to consider this.
It’s also more than just your vote – your public stance could influence others. By rhetorically normalizing not voting, you could influence dozens or hundreds to not vote who would otherwise vote against a bad candidate.
Again, not a huge deal, and you’re not evil for not voting. My question to you is this – are you totally okay with the possibility that by not voting you might, very slightly, increase the chance of something bad happening to good people, and are you totally okay with the possibility that your rhetorical support for not voting might motivate others to not vote when their collective votes could stop these potential bad things?
That being said, I think some people put too much strength into one person’s vote. It almost seems like (and this has been hit on strongly in the past with people hating my stance on this) people are ready to claim that I and I alone are sole responsible for the downfall of America if I don’t vote. That if–as you say–“something bad happening to good people” (like what? They’re going to die? How would that happen?) rests totally and completely on the fact that I, specifically, am not voting.
I don’t care if Trump is POTUS, although I doubt very much that is going to happen, so I’m not worried about it one bit. I don’t like Trump and think he’s an enormous asshat. If I was voting, I’d be voting for Hillary.
But anyway, as I just said, I have no fear that Trump will win the presidency.
I’m not saying that. Realistically, there’s only a tiny chance of your vote mattering, and only a very small chance of the votes (or non-votes) of anyone you influence mattering. But those are still non-zero chances. By your first answer it sounds like you’re okay with this.
As for what bad things – possibly any or all of the following: decent people being deported or otherwise hassled/mistreated by bigoted policies; women losing rights and access to reproductive health care; military folks being put into harms way without need; white supremacists and white nationalists regaining some part of the prominence and power that they’ve lost; or many more.
So I think your not voting is wrong, in a very small way. To put it another way – if there was some very small thing you could do, that would take about 20 minutes once a year, that would reduce by .0003% the chance of thousands of decent Muslim American families, and decent immigrant families, being mistreated, would you do it? If not, why not?
Again, you’re not evil, and not a bad person for not voting. But I still think it’s wrong to not vote, for the reasons above.
I don’t vote either, but only because I reside in New Jersey. If my vote makes any difference at all, the election would be a lock for Trump. And I don’t pay enough attention to the state and local options to make an informed decision. If I lived in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc. even Arizona, I certainly would vote.
Okay. I think this is an indefensible position on moral and ethical grounds, since politics can be demonstrated to have an effect on people’s lives, in both good and bad ways. But again, not a huge deal. Doesn’t make you a bad person to do one very small bad thing, or fail to do a very small good thing, every once in a while. I certainly occasionally do bad things or fail to do good things.
So basically you are practicing the “herd immunity” method of voting, and just hope that enough people around you got vaccinated against horrible ideas.
How can you not care about anything political? Politics covers everything. For every conceivable issue that you care about, someone somewhere is trying to legislate on it, and someone else is trying to legislate the other side.
So you’re going to need to confront this belief as soon as tomorrow.
If, indeed, Clinton wins, I assume you’ll see your view here today as justified. (With some reason, I grant).
But push yourself into a bit of visualization: it’s tomorrow, and Trump pulled the upset win out, 271-267. Or even Trump made it 269-269, with a Republican House set to decide the winner.
I myself am not indifferent about politics, but I don’t always vote either. And I’ve gotten more lax about it over time. I do intend to vote today though (probably going to write in Kasich for prez).
My wife is not going to bother. She’s actually thinking of walking on a route that will take her right past the polling place, which generally features very short or no lines, but says she can’t be bothered to step in and vote. And while she’s not as political as me, she’s definitely more attuned to it than the average American.
There are no issues that I care about. And I don’t care about anything political because I find, by and far, most things political or having to do with politics is boring and uninteresting.