But you still need to vote for the ones that suck a little less because that’s how good change happens. People that bring up how politicians suck and that’s the reason they don’t vote make no sense to me.
I know you didn’t ask but I am just so passionate about politics and a lot of people are always like “Oh, so I’m supposed to choose the lesser of two evils?”
And like… yeah. Yeah you are. You really really are. That’s how democracy works.
Democracies should not be selecting the “lesser of two evils” – they should be selecting the better of two goods. It’s a subtle difference, but still a very important distinction. Of course, what should be, and what is, are two very different things.
Voting is a civic duty, but what people in America do is not voting, and hasn’t been for some time now. By all means, continue to vote, but do not count on that system alone to bring about the changes you wish to see from your government.
Okay, but if you don’t vote, no change will happen. Ideally yes, better of two goods, but we don’t live in an ideal world. And in the end, I’d still vote if one of the candidates was a slightly shady conservative businessman and the other was a neonazi because I’d rather have a guy up there helping himself but putting on a nice face rather than somebody with openly racist ideals getting into congress. I agree other forms of action are important and necessary but in my opinion voting is the bare minimum you should do as a citizen. If you just sit back and don’t vote then the representatives aren’t representing you. They’re not catering to you. They’re catering to the people that vote. And you know who votes a lot? Old white conservative people.
You can protest all you want and create petitions but to sign petitions you have to be registered to vote. And if the people protesting don’t vote, what real incentive is there for politicians to change? They’re worried about the people that vote. Those are the ones that’ll help them keep their job.
Choosing not to vote are one of the huge factors that led to Trump being president. Everyone who didn’t vote during that election because they didn’t like either candidates contributed to this because at the end of the day, indifference is siding with the side getting away with committing the injustice. If you hadn’t voted then, use this as an opportunity now
^^^^^ Yes. For the love of God, yes.
Vote. I don’t care if you hate both candidates–figure out which one is going to do less harm and vote for them, because that is the only way we prevent things from getting worse. And preventing things from getting worse is the first step on the road to things getting better. Before we can turn this train around, we have to slow it down, and believe it or not, that isn’t gonna happen all at once. There’s no such thing as throwing things into reverse without slowing down and turning around first.
This is already one of the scariest political climates I’ve lived through (and I lived through George W Bush) and it absolutely baffles me when people think they’re taking some kind of a stand by abstaining from voting. Abstaining doesn’t mean the system no longer applies to you. If you are a citizen, then you are a part of this system, and there is no way to be ‘above’ it. These are real policies that affect real people, even if those people aren’t you. They’re people you know, people you love and care about. And if you think that not voting means you are taking some kind of ‘moral high ground,’ you are dead wrong. What you are doing is basically standing aside and telling the horrible people they can do whatever you want because you won’t stop them.
Voting is where your voice is heard. It’s where you take a stand. It’s where you say, “You know what? No. This isn’t okay.”
Do not be taken in by Tumblr’s all-or-nothing puritanical ideals. No politician is perfect. Every politician has skeletons in their closets and ideals that may not match yours 100%. That should not keep you from choosing one. Deal with the fact that you have one candidate that has one or two skeletons and one that is literally standing on a mass grave and pick the first one.
What matters here isn’t finding some theoretical perfect person, because that person will probably never go into politics. What matters is acknowledging the facts: that you are a citizen, that the results of these elections and the policies that come out of them will affect millions of people (and if you can’t bring yourself to care about them, then try to care about the people you know and love who are hurt by these policies, because I promise you you know at least one), that abstaining does not exclude you from the systems and policies that will result, and that voting really does matter. If you can acknowledge these facts, and still somehow think that voting isn’t important, then I am honestly baffled, because you’re basically saying, “I have the ability to influence history and I choose not to.”
And frankly, if you are able to vote and decide not to? Then you don’t get to complain about the election results. If you throw away your one chance to actually influence the shit that’s going down, then you also throw away your right to bitch about it, because people are literally dying for the right to make their voices heard, and you’ve been handed a microphone and you’re spitting on it.
I have zero patience for you. You think you’re standing on some kind of moral high ground, but you’re actually just standing on the piles of graves of the people who will be literally murdered because you let these politicians through the door.
Yes, voting is important for these trying times and we need a democratic government as if right now. And it’s so so important to vote, but…..I might not go and vote. I’m not too invested in politics. I know it’s important but I don’t know.
If you don’t play the game then the game still plays you. It affects you. It doesn’t take long to research a candidate. Just take some time with your sample ballot that they send you. Google the people. Mark which ones you’ll vote for. If there’s an issue you just really can’t decide on or know you know nothing about then it’s okay to leave that one blank. You’re not required to vote on every issue presented but vote on the ones you can. Really. Fill in every box you feel that you can. At the very least, vote for candidates connected to the party you’re registered with. Most canidates have a website and/or an article on ballotpedia or Wikipedia. It’s never been easier to find out about people and where they stand. Please please please take the time to do it. It really doesn’t matter how invested you are in politics. It still affects literally every aspect of your life. All of it. Yes, all of it. No second of your life from the moment you’re conceived isn’t affected by politics.
Political apathy is a very dangerous thing to hold onto, especially now. Look, I’ll be the first to say that my heart and mind have been so torn up by thinking about voting in these midterms alone. First off, it’ll be my first time. Second off, these politicians all have done shit and stand for things I don’t like. Every politician does suck- sure. I’ll give you that. But there are ones that suck less. And you need to try to find them.
Like LJ said, “If you are able to vote and decide not to? Then you don’t get to complain about the election results.” You chose apathy. You chose to not do anything. You chose to not even try.
Please, for the love of God, VOTE.
Yes, please, for the love of God vote. We cannot expect change without action. If you care about the future of this country, and you don’t like how messed up things are, you need to vote.
The truth is all politicians S U C C
Published
AlexTheGhost 