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Vote, You Stupid Idiot

June 28, 2004

Darren: “If you don't vote, I'll stand for no future complaints about the government.”

d: “Vote on Monday. Vote with your heart and your brain. Vote with the past and the future in mind. Whatever you do.. vote.”

peechie: “GO VOTE, NOW! [...] SO JUST DO IT! MAKE YOURSELF HEARD!”

Steve: “The only wasted vote is the vote not cast.”

Well, I don't agree, with Darren's argument (you're allowed to complain about the government if you haven't voted) nor with the tone of d and peechie (do people really respond that well to being told what to do in caps?) nor with Steve (not voting is a legitimate form of political expression, and besides, if your candidate is going to win and doesn't need your vote, why bother?). I'm voting today—I feel no obligation to tell you for whom, since here in Canada it's a secret ballot—because it makes me feel important when a good sized chunk of our world's population doesn't have the right. But that's despite being told to do it by my peers. I say that if you're eligible and don't want to vote or have nobody to vote for or against, you're under no obligation to. Low voter turnout is not so bad; it may even be better for democracy. People telling others what to do, that's bad for democracy.

tags: democracy, voting
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