Day 291 Question 291:
If you choose not to vote, does that mean you should not be able to voice your opinions regarding politics?
I am not going to lie. This is my forum to no lie in. I am contemplating whether or not to vote when this election day comes along. I have been barked at by many being told that it is my civic duty and if I don’t vote then I have no say in government. Do I really have a say now? And regardless of what other people think, if I want to voice my opinion I am going to do it. If I am have the ability to speak then I am most certainly going to do it because I don’t have a barcode on my body. The government may try to control me but regardless I am a human being. I think the United States government has become a complete disgrace….harsh but true. This ongoing election has proved that government is no longer about the people. We have two candidates that have pointed fingers at each other and told us nothing about what they are going to do to get this country to a better place. Mitt Romney is a businessman and could turn our economy around and Barack Obama is soooo charismatic. They are both assholes in my book. Once the debates began I knew then and there that I stood correct in saying that the well-being of the American people had been completely lost. This election is simply a fight for power and a status quo.
Be yourself. Be yourself. Be yourself. I can’t tell you how many times I hear these words being thrown out into the atmosphere. Everyone says it but then we have this huge entity telling us how we have to act and react and how we are Un-American if we don’t CHOOSE to vote. Jerry Garcia said it perfectly, “Choosing the Lesser of the Two Evils is Still Choosing Evil.” Excuse me if I find myself very unimpressed with the choices that the American people are being given. I am sure some people will say that I am what is wrong with this country but I would beg to differ. Out of the billions of people in this country, we are given 2 choices….REALLY???? I do understand that we need to get our economy back on its feet but listening to everyone harp on social media and in the news about what is “really” important just makes politics and government even less appealing to me. I am a humanitarian. I believe that the well-being of the person comes first and that our country should be the model of family and unity. I believe we should strive for equal rights for ALL!!! I can’t pin myself to one party because I don’t agree with everything each individual party represents. I hate the ugliness that comes with choosing a side….we see innocent Muslims killed just for being Muslim because of what happened on 9/11. The political debates and this entire election has been so ugly and I am so ready for it to be over with. I am ready for the finger pointing and the bashing to be over with….it goes against everything I believe. It is no secret that children are like sponges. They watch adults and mimic our behaviors. Here were have these two figures that should represent respect, dignity, honor and they should be the mentors of this country and here they stand insulting and degrading each other. We want to teach our children to share and to work together to solve problems but here are these two grown men that are acting like baboons throwing their feces at each other. I am sorry if I just can’t get on board with all of this. I am beyond grateful for all that I have and I am proud to be a native of this country because great things have been done here and there is such a rich history but it saddens me to see the direction that we are headed. It frightens me to think about how much uglier the next election will be. We have become a country that is progressively dividing further and further apart every single day and I can’t help but wonder what this country will look like in 20-30 years.
I understand that people will not agree with me and I expect some lashings here. I don’t want to give up hope and lose faith in humanity. The United States is a country that has opportunity after opportunity. We have more than other countries could even fathom and I don’t want to see us turn into a country that takes all of that for granted. This is again why I have to educate myself on what is going on in other countries….simply so I can remember what life is really about. We need money to survive as a country but I think family and human interactions are far more important. We need to teach love of each other over the love and need of power.
If you believe I have no voice if I choose not to vote then that is your choice to think that. This country (by what I have learned throughout my life) is based on freedom. I will not strip you or your “rights” and I would appreciate the same in return. I do not lose rights simply because I may choose not to vote. I apologize but I have grown so sick of the ugliness and going to my parent’s house and listening to how much of a liar Obama is and how he is going to turn us into a communist country or getting on my FB page and reading all of the rants about how stupid mitt Romney is and how he is only out to chase the American dollar. I am sick of being somewhere and someone will randomly spout off their political views about this election with the assumption that I am going to agree with them. I am not the person that hates strictly based on a political point of view. My father and I disagree on most things but I love him and have great respect for him. We both know our boundaries and we don’t speak of certain issues out of respect for each other (well, most of the time at least). Republicans and Democrats are turning into arch-enemies and at the rate we are going I could see a war erupting between these two parties because the anger and the resentment between the two parties just keeps getting bigger and bigger. We are a country that is at a war of words and if we keep moving in this direction the war will be much more than just words.
So, with my opinions out there (with expectation of wrath), I have still yet to decide whether or not I will vote. It saddens me that I even have to think about it but this is the first election where I can say I truly listened and opened my eyes to what is going on and I am so very unimpressed with that I see. I worry about the direction my country is headed and I am afraid that we are losing humanity and the love we should be striving for. To some I may be one of those dreamers but I cannot help how I feel.
It's a New Day... 
I’ve always gone with the adage if you don’t vote you can’t bitch. But we have the right to vote or not. It’s completely up to you. That’s the beauty of living in a free country. Also, it’s great to have the free will to say whether or not we did vote. People may complain about your post, but it is your forum. You can say what you want.
Well, I thought I would tell you it was wonderful to read the words of a thinking woman. I don’t agree with all of them, but I do agree with much of what you said. For myself, I have already voted, but I am 62 have been an activist much of my life. I respect you for stating your truth. I hope you will vote, but if you choose not to that is your free choice. I will be looking for more interesting blogs from you. Hugs, Barbara.
I can understand the frustration you express so well. I think that you are not alone in this feeling and it is something that needs to be more clearly understood rather than instantly condemned. Our process has clearly turned too many people off, but it is still the means by which we choose our leaders. The key is to find out how to make people talk louder than money, how to bring people back into the process, and how to make sure that we safeguard our process against future abuses.
Having said that, I personally cannot abdicate my responsibility to make a selection, no matter how poor the choices are. I do not condemn you for choosing not to vote, as I said. the problems are bigger than that. I personally believe that choosing not to vote just decreases the chances that we will ever get the problem back under control. And that plays right into the hands of those that have corrupted the process in the first place.
It really is a sad story. Politics is globally becoming a manipulation tool. It probably has been so for a long time. The social media is used to manipulate people into emotions to disfavor one party and favour another. Like you rightly pointed out; settling for the lesser of evils is still settling for evil.
We need to figure out a way to sanitize the politics of nations. All of these segregations, parties and strives are not even supposed to be in the first flace. The entire world is supposed to be one big family where peace and love reigns.
We’ve got to convince ourselves of what is right and insist on it. I agree with you on this point. We must not be forced into voting when we don’t find peace or logic in the direction and approach. Lovely post!
By the way, I’ve got some Unique November wises for you: http://teeceecounsel.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/unique-november-blessing/
As a Canadian, I only see what the media wishes us to see but. I agree with your sentiment 100% we are all capable of making a choice. regardless of where that choice leads us it is ours to make. So follow your heart listen to the reason from your mind and base it on your response to those.
End the Fed – JFK planned on abolishing the Federal reserve … need I say more …
Reblogged this on VDC and commented:
Loved this! Very…………………………INTERESTING I may add!
I could not have worded this better. I too am in the boat where I don’t feel like voting for either candidate is an option for me. I happen to like the way Obama speaks in public, but I don’t see him being able to make any of the sweeping changes our country needs in order to better the lives of every American. Romney possesses a singular whit and a business acumen that can be admired. But he doesn’t represent the American experience that I as a lower income person have more or less been forced to deal with, and he had made it quite clear that he has no desire to do so.
It disgusts me that of all the people in this country, only two are able to step to the fore and ask for our support to make this country what it can and should be. What sickens me more is that anyone would look me in the eye and call me unpatriotic when I’ve decided that neither candidate will get my vote. I’ve done it before, and I will do so again. If you want to know the reason I’ve made the choice, you can simply ask me rather than jumping down my throat and loudly proving your ignorance.
I am with you in your stance on this election. Aside from the fact that I essentially blocked Halloween from my existence yesterday because of what Hurricane Sandy did to my City, I’m not even remotely interested in tomorrow’s election. My vote didn’t mean anything when Georgie Porgie was “elected” all those years ago, and I fail to see that it will garner me what I need as an American struggling to make ends meet today.
I’d rather edit my book anyway.
It’s been a while since I’ve commented on your blog, but I follow it still 🙂 Good work. (hugs)
Your response just made me smile so big!!!!!
You have a habit of expressing so much of what I feel, at times, that you make me smile as well 🙂
keep on blogging. You’re doing a great job!
I have to say, you do have some very good points.
I as a US Government worker I believe it is my civic duty and privilege to vote. However, I definitely understand your frustration with the candidates.
I think your frustrations are the same as many people in our great nation, but people are afraid to speak out. That being said, I do respect your opinion, but as a Federal worker and strong believer in our US military, I hope on election day, you’ll take this strong of a stand and use your privilege to vote. 🙂