Here’s a must-read article that reminded me of this thread. Fans of democracy around the world see this election not just as America’s loss, but the world’s. It’s as though the Grand Experiment in Democracy has proven to be a failure.
What-s the connection to OP?
[INDENT]“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”[/INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][INDENT] - Edmund Burke[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]
The OP not registered to vote .
I don’t complain about the government.
Well, I don’t litter and I recycle, so those are bad examples, although I get where you’re coming with it.
I don’t really care what other people do. I don’t control their actions. If others choose not to vote, I wouldn’t care or be upset over it.
More like “It’s an area of interest I have no interest in, just like some people don’t like sports”.
Well people obviously care enough to respond don’t they.
I wonder if all the YOU MUST VOTE people really mean you must vote the way I want you to. Would you be encouraging Idle Thoughts to vote if you knew he would vote for candidates you don’t like? Or is this advocating of democracy and civic participation conditional?
Interesting, if saddening thread.
Idle Thoughts, given that you have chosen to not vote, would you extend that choice to every other person in a ‘democracy’? And if that were the case, and everyone refrained from voting, would you be comfortable living in a dictatorship?
See, if politics (etc) holds zero interest for you, you shouldn’t care what style of government you live under. And further, no matter how evil/despotic/malign your dictator, it wouldn’t matter to you at all…is that right?
Look, if you wanna say “I don’t know, I don’t want to know, and I don’t care”, that’s your business. But if that’s truly the case, you don’t get to say “I know it’s probably gonna be fine either way.” You’ve stated and demonstrated that you really do know NOTHING, so just stick with that.
The reason I say this, if you have any idle curiosity, is that the system of checks and balances you mentioned is in an alarming state of disrepair. And contrary to what you think you know, the US Presidency is a dangerously overpowered political structure that wields a terrifying amount of unchecked power, both in the form of direct and indirect action. I’m not asking you to care, I just wanted to explain the nerve you struck with the above post.
“Millions” plural? Cite please?
Switzerland had certain territorial advantages that Gandhi didn’t. In Gandhi v the Nazis, what do you think would have happened? One moral dead guy, that’s what. Nazis didn’t give a fuck about hunger strikes. Assuming they bothered to let him starve to death in the first place and didn’t just shoot him.
Holy shit is this a false equivalency anyway. OP isn’t saying he’s neutral or a pacifist. Quite the opposite. He’s saying he doesn’t care. He is apathetic. Ignorant and proud to be so.
Of course he can hold that position, but he hasn’t defended it other than to state, again, that he doesn’t care. That’s not circular really. It’s singular.
You didn’t answer my question at all. What you did was offer a list of things you claim to “care about”.
Do you care about any people or pets in your life? Is that limited to being interested in them and learning about them*, or does it also carry over into actively aiding and abetting their lives?
I think this explainswhy you may think this way.
I’ve read the whole thread and, as is to be expected around here, it is a bunch of sanctimony and gang-bang holier-than-thouism. But you saw that coming.
I’ve not missed an election (save for school board 
) since I became eligible. I pride myself on that and I’m trying to raise my kids to hold their franchise sacred. But that is me.
I get not caring about politics - although I think, to quote Heinlein, that it is “just slightly less important than breathing.” I get that you figure your vote doesn’t matter much. Shit man, by the time the polls close in my province the news is already telling me who won.
I think you are part of an important and utterly neglected demographic. The “I don’t give a shit about politics because I don’t give a shit about politics contingent.”
After every election there is much hand wringing and over-paid / over-played navel gazing about why voter turnout is so low and what can we do to fix it. They trot out “disillusionment”, “disenfranchisement”, “overall dissatisfaction”, “draconian laws passed by assholes designed to prevent those who do want to vote from voting” but they never address your group. I think your group is in the majority. This is just a hunch and I can provide no cites for it.
See all of those things that they impotently discuss before and after every cycle require engagement on some level. No one who was truly apathetic about a situation ever felt disillusioned. Why? Because you have to have been illusioned in the first place. Same goes for every other group but yours. You can’t be pissed about something you never gave a fuck about in the first place.
Here’s an example - I love mixed martial arts. I was an avid fan before anyone knew it existed. I am passionately angry about the ongoing problems with judging, reffing and weight cutting in MMA. Are you? Nope. Why not?
'Cuz you don’t give a shit.
And that is your right. Just like freedom of religion means freedom from religion the right to vote means the right to not vote for whatever fucking reason you choose. Uninterest is just as valid a reason as any other and requires no justification.
Now, all these people who are giving you shit ought to be stepping back, swallowing the self-righteousness and then realizing that they should be thanking you. You not voting makes their vote just a little bit more powerful. Rather than their vote being one out of a million theirs is now one out of 999,999. Your lack of interest has given them more power.
“What if Trump wins and you didn’t vote?” Then Trump fucking wins. The Trump people will thank you for not voting for Hilary and not give a tinker’s dam if you didn’t vote for Trump - he won. Same on the other side.
See, all this shit they’ve been feeding you is just a way of feeding their own ego. It is transparent self-aggrandizement.
So you do you man (or woman - I really don’t know) and rest secure in the knowledge that a great man heartily supports your decision.
Zeke
Reminds me of The Last Articleby Harry Turtledove. A story that has stuck with me…
You obviously have poor reading comprehension or are just dishonest. I’ve clearly stated in multiple posts I don’t care who Idle Thoughts votes for or if he votes at all. Contrast that with all the other people wishing Idle Thoughts votes for the outcome they’d like. Try being objective for once.
I think it’s partially that voting might be too easy that people take it for granted. When you have to work and sacrifice for something you value it more.
For me, it is important for everyone who can vote to do so, because I want to know what the true level of support is for a particular viewpoint or issue. When people don’t vote, it’s hard to know whether support for something is lukewarm, middling, or strong.
For example, in the last few election cycles, the Tea Party was able to gain a substantial foothold in the Republican party, IMO because a lot of moderate Republicans stayed home and didn’t vote in local elections - believing like the OP that their vote wouldn’t make a difference. So, then TeaPartiers believed that they had the support of their districts and they began pushing policies and rhetoric that most people in their district really don’t want. The squeaky wheel doesn’t always have to get the grease.
Also, IMO, when you don’t come out and vote (whatever side you’re on) you’re encouraging the polarization of politics. If everyone who could vote did so, maybe it would be easier to get a third party off the ground. If during this election in particular, 100% of eligible voters voted, then it would be okay for a certain percentage of people to vote for Stein and Johnson, without the fear that Trump/Clinton will lose because of it. Then we could actually start to talk about the views that Stein and Johnson espouse and what it is about them that is attractive to a substantial portion of the population.
I am disappointed in people who don’t make the effort to vote, but it is their choice. However it’s the complete certainty that it just doesn’t matter coupled with no interest in finding out if it does, that boggles my mind.
Why do you recycle? I can guarantee you one aluminum can more or less in the land fill won’t make a lick of difference, yet you feel the need to make this effort. Why?
I will look at the 72,305,996 votes Hillary got and know that without my effort, she would have had a mere 72,305,995. My vote counted and, I got another “I voted” sticker for the side of my desk. So many stickers that they’ve started peeling off.
Horseshit.
Look, I’ve never sacrificed anything to vote. I’ve never worked for it. I was born into a free country that has rarely taken up arms in my lifetime and then, usually, it was in the name keeping peace in other countries (keeping not forcing).
I vote because when people gave the message about its importance it resonated with me and I’m a patriot. I love my country and I feel it is my duty to vote. Others don’t feel that way. C’est la vie.
It has nothing to do with “well you don’t appreciate it because you didn’t work for it.” It has everything to do with “it’s not meaningful to you because you didn’t sacrifice or work for it.”
What percentage of those who do vote do you think sacrificed or worked for it? And don’t say, “well my daddy fought in the war.” That’s your dad’s sacrifice not yours. By that same logic every self-entitled prick whose dad worked his ass off to build a fortune ought appreciate everything they have. Reality does not bear this out.
Where do you get off being “disappointed in” anyone that isn’t your kid, partner or friend?
Disappointed that people don’t vote is different and perfectly fair but “disappointed in” assumes that you have the right to cast judgement upon them.
Do you? If so then from where does that right derive precisely?
Just because a reason doesn’t apply to you doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply to anyone else.