Why vote?

If you’re one of those people who thinks “Why vote? My vote doesn’t matter anyway,” then realize that by becoming apathetic you are giving up your privileges as a democratic citizen. By thinking that your vote doesn’t matter, like a "self-fulfilling prophecy,” your vote won’t matter. If you don’t vote today, you’re not allowed to complain to me about politics. I constantly hear people complain about their politicians, yet the voters re-elect the same people every time. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. The only way that one can complain about politics and actually be heard is by voting. That’s my spiel.


George Carlin had a funny comedy routine about why he didn’t vote. He said, “If you vote…you have no right to complain,” but I think the logic in his bit was impractical because it abdicated the responsibility of the people to remain the bulwark against the corruption of power. By not voting, one hands over the 'power of the people’ to the 'power of the few'- the oligarchs, plutocrats and theocrats.


Carlin had a separate bit about how we do not have ‘rights,’ we only have ‘privileges.’ His point was that it’s not a ‘right’ if the government can take it away from you whenever it pleases. I think he feared that we unwillingly let the government take our rights and privileges away when we become unaware of their necessity. I think that voting is a necessary privilege in a well-functioning democracy (as well as education and a free press). I think that by refusing to vote one is throwing away their rights or privileges. Sometimes the government doesn’t forcibly take our rights away, but in our feeling apathetic and powerless, we voluntarily give them up without a fight.