(email to someone justifying their not voting)
NOT voting doesn't send the message: "I'm a revolutionary!"
It sends the message, "I don't pay attention or care."
If you don't like the two contenders, vote for an obscure 3rd party candidate who has no chance of winning. Vote for a Libertarian, or Nader or ANYONE.
A losing vote STILL COUNTS in the long run.
The 2 parties are identical because they are watered-down compromises. They embrace whatever will get them elected.
If politicians see that there is a chunk of libertarian (or whatever) voters that they could sway to vote democrat/repub/whatever if they adopted a portion of their views, then the losing vote CAN make a difference. Next time around, that politician may say, "hmmmm...if I embrace medical marijuana, I could get this chunk of voting wackos to vote for me."
But if those wackos don't vote, why should ANY politician care? Even the wacko-sympathetic ones?
Even if you lose the election, you make a blip on the radar. You tell the decision-makers that "X" number of people care about legalizing marijuana. If that number gets to a critical mass, it will influence the platforms of the 2 major parties. But If you don't vote, you PLAY NO PART in the decision making process. You are saying, "I trust the system and forfeit my right to complain."
Now, if you are spending your days organizing revolution, good for you. Disregard the above. But not voting is NOT revolutionary. It's forfeit.
-john
p.s. My decision is to vote for Gore because I think my lifestyle would be *more* persecuted under Bush. But choose whatever you want.
October 04, 2000
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