Vote
I’m not sure how long it has taken for this to happen, but our presidential election has degenerated into a perverted version of choice.
I recall voting being something one did that was “for” a person or an ideal, not “against” one. Voting against someone, in my mind, presumes that nothing could be worse. Be careful people, history has taught us it can always be worse. And much worse when the people give up and decide it is allowable to have no acceptable candidates.
So this year I ask you to vote. If you are for the Democratic candidate, vote for her. If you are for the Republican candidate, then vote for him. The same goes for the Libertarian and Green Party candidates. Please exercise your rights and responsibilities as a U.S. Citizen.
But if you are NOT for anyone, don’t perpetuate the situation by voting against someone. Think about it, you would actually be voting against three people, two whose platforms you likely don’t even know. The strength of a democracy comes from its citizen’s having acceptable choices. The system has failed democracy when it does not.
Why should anyone accept this? How desperate do things have to be to force you to choose between two bad business proposals? Or choose unacceptable suitors? Or to join an organization with a disreputable leader? We would all agree that something had gone terribly wrong. Some huge failure would have occurred if we were forced into one of these choices – and we would not permit it to happen again.
This November, exercise your rights. Vote for someone you choose. And if you can’t, don’t be afraid to vote for no one. But be sure to register so it is a loud no vote. Let your voice be heard.
If you’re wondering what happens when no candidate receives sufficient votes the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration website says, “If no candidate receives a majority of Electoral votes, the House of Representatives elects the President from the 3 Presidential candidates who received the most Electoral votes.”
Wouldn’t that be awful, the House and the President on the same page? Maybe this is progress.