Jamie Douglas

People of democratic nations often hold the belief that if someone can vote, then they should do so. This argument is unsatisfying: Why should I vote? Having the ability to do an action is not enough reason to do it.

Why is voting put on a pedestal? The way we vote only allows for the two party candidates to have a chance of gaining an office position, and this is apparently true for the presidency. Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain hold platforms that I can support. While both candidates can fill my ears with buzzwords, slogans, and sweet talk, this is not enough reason for me to vote for one of them.

I would not vote because the outcome of the election is rigged. I do not mean that a victor is decided upon before the election is started, or that someone is tampering with the votes (although foul play is abundant).

The election is rigged in the sense that we know that McCain or Obama will win. We are not going to see Bob Barr (Libertarian) or Cynthia McKinney (Green) come up from behind and surprise us. We didn’t even see them in a single debate, nor did we hear about them in any major news outlet. The Republicans and Democrats decide all the rules for the televised debates, and they decide all of the campaign laws. We are stuck in a two party system, and any third party is bound to fail because it does not have the billions of dollars that are available to the Democrats and Republicans.

This problem was created in part by the armies of ignorant voters created by “Rock the Vote,” “Vote or Die,” and other mainstream media groups formed each year. Voters drawn in by these organizations are not voting for legitimate reasons, but instead listening to unqualified personalities like P. Diddy and Bill O’Reilly. The two party system isn’t created by a scheming group that controls the world, but by these people who do not evaluate their decisions and instead, choose simply to vote with “their” party. Due to this, there is no longer a system that benefits the common good; those two parties no longer need to benefit the common good to get the votes they need.

Even if I were to cast a third party vote in protest (with the hope that I would influence the Republican or Democratic parties to incorporate ideas that I believe in to their platform), would either party be willing to give up the power they have and be more willing to introduce third parties? I don’t believe so. Would the organizations that hold influence over the voters be willing to give up their power? Through laziness, fancy campaign slogans, and straight-up propaganda we have trapped ourselves in a system that is not only broken, but malevolent towards we, the people.

Casting a vote of any kind, protest or not, would only endorse this broken system. So why would I legitimize this system by casting a vote? This is a system that I cannot take part in. That does not mean that one should ignore politics. In fact, one should do the opposite: Pay more attention and counter the influence of those illegitimate authorities. There are several better ways to express political views without having to waste your time with a vote. You can change the policies through civil protest. Assemble, write an article, or do something radical, like Martin Luther King, Jr. It would be wise to remember that the system will not change as long as we believe that the system is working in our favor.