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Why I don't vote, and other people shouldn't either.
Every time election time comes around, whatever it may be for (municipal, federal, school student society, etc.), people always ask me if I’m going to vote, and subsequently, who I plan to vote for. These people obviously feel passionately for politics, and probably have a strong bias for one particular party/candidate. I mean, they’re asking, after all, so they must have at least a minimal interest in it. So then, when I tell them I don’t plan on voting, it typically casts an empty glance across their face, as they stare at me in disbelief. Yes, that’s right, I said it. I don’t vote, and don’t ever plan to.
My decision to not vote, and my stance on why other people shouldn’t vote, seems to go against everything that stands for goodness and order in this society. Hell, MuchMusic even runs ads around federal elections telling young adults to get out and vote if they have the chance. So with all of this media and personal hype around casting my life-changing vote, why do I still choose not to?
First let me get one thing straight. My choice of not voting does not equate to the fact that I don’t care. Now, to be completely frank, yes, that’s part of it, but not all of it. Of course I care about my own well-being and all of that shit, but there’s a lot more to it. The main reason I don’t vote is because I don’t know enough about politics. I don’t research enough into the campaigns, or what so-and-so’s stance on immigration is, or whatnot, because I have little to no interest in it. It doesn’t mean I don’t care about the outcome, but I feel I don’t have enough information (or rather, I don’t care enough to go out and gather enough information) to sway myself in a particular direction.
As a result, all I ever see are campaign ads on TV telling me this guy will do this for me, and a few seconds later, the next opposing dude telling me that first dude is a douchebag. And of course, whatever I hear from the news. Is this enough for me to make a firm decision as to who should run this wonderful nation of ours? I certainly don’t think so. Why? Because campaign ads are full of propaganda and partiality (what you’d expect from people who will tell you anything to get your vote), and news will always have some sort of political bias underpinning what gets reported. So with this enormous heap of bullshit, we’re all supposed to just pick our favorite flavour, and go on with our lives.
Sure, my vote “counts” in terms of it being…well…counted in the number of votes for somebody, but did I make my decision based on everything that needs to be known, or did I just pick the guy whose commercials I saw the most frequently. And this doesn’t just stop at me. I’m sure hundreds of thousands of people in Canada vote based just on this. They’ll hear one guy say he’ll lower taxes and create more jobs. “Well, that sounds amazing! He’s got my vote!” And it ends at that. Personally, I don’t think even 50% of the people in Canada should be voting, based on the premise that they know fuck-all about politics and are just won over with glossed-over statements about how ideal things will be if so-and-so is elected.
Politics is definitely not rocket science, but it’s quite convoluted in many ways. And just in the same way I don’t want to put my life in the hands of some idiot to give me brain surgery, I don’t want a bunch of morons deciding who should be running the country based on nothing but misleading news sources and gut instinct. So please, when election time comes around again and again, I urge my fellow Canadians to think about whether they know all the facts before stepping into that voting booth. I urge you all to stop voting. Besides, in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter anyway?
My decision to not vote, and my stance on why other people shouldn’t vote, seems to go against everything that stands for goodness and order in this society. Hell, MuchMusic even runs ads around federal elections telling young adults to get out and vote if they have the chance. So with all of this media and personal hype around casting my life-changing vote, why do I still choose not to?
First let me get one thing straight. My choice of not voting does not equate to the fact that I don’t care. Now, to be completely frank, yes, that’s part of it, but not all of it. Of course I care about my own well-being and all of that shit, but there’s a lot more to it. The main reason I don’t vote is because I don’t know enough about politics. I don’t research enough into the campaigns, or what so-and-so’s stance on immigration is, or whatnot, because I have little to no interest in it. It doesn’t mean I don’t care about the outcome, but I feel I don’t have enough information (or rather, I don’t care enough to go out and gather enough information) to sway myself in a particular direction.
As a result, all I ever see are campaign ads on TV telling me this guy will do this for me, and a few seconds later, the next opposing dude telling me that first dude is a douchebag. And of course, whatever I hear from the news. Is this enough for me to make a firm decision as to who should run this wonderful nation of ours? I certainly don’t think so. Why? Because campaign ads are full of propaganda and partiality (what you’d expect from people who will tell you anything to get your vote), and news will always have some sort of political bias underpinning what gets reported. So with this enormous heap of bullshit, we’re all supposed to just pick our favorite flavour, and go on with our lives.
Sure, my vote “counts” in terms of it being…well…counted in the number of votes for somebody, but did I make my decision based on everything that needs to be known, or did I just pick the guy whose commercials I saw the most frequently. And this doesn’t just stop at me. I’m sure hundreds of thousands of people in Canada vote based just on this. They’ll hear one guy say he’ll lower taxes and create more jobs. “Well, that sounds amazing! He’s got my vote!” And it ends at that. Personally, I don’t think even 50% of the people in Canada should be voting, based on the premise that they know fuck-all about politics and are just won over with glossed-over statements about how ideal things will be if so-and-so is elected.
Politics is definitely not rocket science, but it’s quite convoluted in many ways. And just in the same way I don’t want to put my life in the hands of some idiot to give me brain surgery, I don’t want a bunch of morons deciding who should be running the country based on nothing but misleading news sources and gut instinct. So please, when election time comes around again and again, I urge my fellow Canadians to think about whether they know all the facts before stepping into that voting booth. I urge you all to stop voting. Besides, in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter anyway?
Comments
This idea of "rock the vote," the idea that "it doesn't matter who you vote for, as long as you vote," is perhaps the single most anti-democratic idea I've ever heard. I'll vote as soon as a secular conservative runs. In other words, I'll probably never vote. =P
One addendum I'd like to make is that I ALWAYS vote on bills and motions. When you're asked to come in and vote on some refferendum, on whether to pass some bill or another, I always, always vote. And I think others should, too. Most questions are binary: should a bill pass, or should it be rejected? There are no shades of grey, in those cases. I think people should pay more attention to those issues, because they are the ones that give us direct control of policy.
I like your style, bastard. :)
I agree with Magnificent Bastard. People who are won over by "glossed-over" statements are people that really need to inform themselves better before they actually vote. I find some people vote because they attach themselves to some political party (e.g. a conservative votes for the Conservative Party, etc) without research on the leading candidate who could have the same values but not an ideal plan of action.
Unfortunately, I find Canadian politics to be really boring because I don't see much differences between the candidates. Sad to say, I'm more enthralled by the Presidential Candidacy in the US even though I have no say in it.
Same idea, really. And the worst thing is, people telling you to go vote, even if you don't know who to vote for......just go vote! Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of voting in the first place? If you're just going to vote at random....well, we might as well choose the winner at random. One vote makes a difference? Give me a fucking break. For the ballot counters, yeah. As for who gets elected, it makes no god damn difference if the person voting knows jack shit about who he's voting for.
I think it's hypocritical to get a higher voter turnout by using those tactics as well. telling people "to just vote", in order to decrease apathy, is being apathetic about the kinds of individuals we would want voting. sure, everyone has the right to vote, but at some point we must limit those who choose to have a say to have a well-informed decision as well.
Ah, i share your frustration. I remember my effin' Socials 11 teacher went on a rant about our generation's apathy. She too wanted us to "get up and vote". :angry:
Why? Because you've let a whole bunch of other people choose the leaders of our governments, and you get to reap the repercussions thereof.
I like to leave these sorts of matters to people who know what they're doing. As a result though, I know that they, of course, will look for what's best in their own interests, but hey, that's life. Like I said before, not voting is much better than just picking some name at random.
I dont really pay attention to political stuff (well i do moreso now than in the past, but i dont follow it really closely), so i never really cared who i voted for.
I dunno if i'll continue to vote....i prolly will, but next time i will pay attention beforehand so i know WHY i am voting for a particular person. lolol.
You know how you will NEVER acheive the change you want? By endorsing people whose ideas you don't actually agree with. By voting for someone who doesn't represent your views, you reenforce with politicians that that is how they should be. No, in fact, you don't even LIKE it. But you were guilted into voting, and now the system is broken. Only vote if you like the candidate genuinely, and not just in relation to their competition.
That said, I wish more people would vote on the issue-votes that come up. Those are far more important.