I know. I'll wait until the shockingness of it has died down.
(Don't read anything in to the fact that the winner in the video looks a little like Mittens.)
It actually is a little shocking to me; I've voted in every election since I turned 18, usually at considerable inconvenience. I believe I'm blessed to live in America. I believe that the only way for democracy to work is for everybody to keep an eye on the sticky fingers of everybody else. So why on earth would I choose to stay home on November 6?
Well, friends, it's no secret that our choices aren't stellar this year. On the one hand we have the gentleman affectionately known on this blog as PBO; on the other we have his opponent, another gentleman we'll call Mittens. They are both (affectionately!) either idiots or dishonest.
Neither of them will get us out of the economic quagmire.
Neither of them are anxious to be above-board about their past and their money.
Neither of them seem to think ordinary people are too bright.
Neither of them are nearly as anxious to protect your freedoms as they are to ensure their own political survival.
I don't mean to discourage you. There are a number of third-party candidates that some folks find more palatable than PBO and Mittens--Ron Paul, for instance. But I can't in good faith vote for Ron Paul for one of the same reasons I can't vote for Mittens: Ayn Rand. (Paul Ryan, Mittens's veep candidate, is an Ayn Rand admirer, as is Paul.) Rand, poor woman, was bat-poopy bonkers and what I've read of her writings tend too much toward Nietzsche and his Superman for my taste. They are also horrid as novels, but what can you really expect from a philosopher.
So why I'm not voting: I can't find someone who I believe would be a good President to vote for. Short of writing in Chuck Norris--the political equivalent of sloshing beer on someone and yelling WOO!--there is literally no one that I think would do a good job with their hats in the ring.
So rather than feel myself backed into a corner, yet again, and trying to vote for the lesser of two weevils, I'm Opting Out.
(This won't actually make that much difference, by the way. I know this goes against everything we've been taught, but look at the Schoolhouse Rock cartoon above. It IS, in fact, literally true that my vote doesn't make a difference, because the popular vote isn't what determines elections. I would still vote if I could find a candidate who didn't make me throw up a little in my mouth.)
So far Opting Out has been lovely. I don't watch the debates. I don't follow the coverage. I don't have signs in my yard. I don't have to talk with the door-to-door people (I simply smile, take their brochure, and shred it for the compost pile). I don't have to do any complex Weevil Measuring.
And since God is the one controlling elections anyway, I figure I can do without a big fat dose of stress this November.
I'm not going to tell you to go against your convictions, and yes, I'm aware that by doing this I'm forfeiting my right to complain about the Gubmint. But I offer this mea culpa as a little piece of solace to people who are trying hard to figure out an ethical way to vote: just don't.
You can still "vote" on things, by the way, even if you choose not to vote on November 6--vote with your time, and your money, and the way you speak. Buy from companies that support what you value (even if that value is "companies who produce very inexpensive products", it counts). Spend your time doing things that align with what you believe is true, not the opposite. Speak in the ways that you really believe the Lord would have you speak.
Ultimately, those choices are going to make a much bigger difference than Mittens or PBO.
Cheers,
Breanna
Well, friends, it's no secret that our choices aren't stellar this year. On the one hand we have the gentleman affectionately known on this blog as PBO; on the other we have his opponent, another gentleman we'll call Mittens. They are both (affectionately!) either idiots or dishonest.
Neither of them will get us out of the economic quagmire.
Neither of them are anxious to be above-board about their past and their money.
Neither of them seem to think ordinary people are too bright.
Neither of them are nearly as anxious to protect your freedoms as they are to ensure their own political survival.
I don't mean to discourage you. There are a number of third-party candidates that some folks find more palatable than PBO and Mittens--Ron Paul, for instance. But I can't in good faith vote for Ron Paul for one of the same reasons I can't vote for Mittens: Ayn Rand. (Paul Ryan, Mittens's veep candidate, is an Ayn Rand admirer, as is Paul.) Rand, poor woman, was bat-poopy bonkers and what I've read of her writings tend too much toward Nietzsche and his Superman for my taste. They are also horrid as novels, but what can you really expect from a philosopher.
So why I'm not voting: I can't find someone who I believe would be a good President to vote for. Short of writing in Chuck Norris--the political equivalent of sloshing beer on someone and yelling WOO!--there is literally no one that I think would do a good job with their hats in the ring.
So rather than feel myself backed into a corner, yet again, and trying to vote for the lesser of two weevils, I'm Opting Out.
(This won't actually make that much difference, by the way. I know this goes against everything we've been taught, but look at the Schoolhouse Rock cartoon above. It IS, in fact, literally true that my vote doesn't make a difference, because the popular vote isn't what determines elections. I would still vote if I could find a candidate who didn't make me throw up a little in my mouth.)
So far Opting Out has been lovely. I don't watch the debates. I don't follow the coverage. I don't have signs in my yard. I don't have to talk with the door-to-door people (I simply smile, take their brochure, and shred it for the compost pile). I don't have to do any complex Weevil Measuring.
And since God is the one controlling elections anyway, I figure I can do without a big fat dose of stress this November.
I'm not going to tell you to go against your convictions, and yes, I'm aware that by doing this I'm forfeiting my right to complain about the Gubmint. But I offer this mea culpa as a little piece of solace to people who are trying hard to figure out an ethical way to vote: just don't.
You can still "vote" on things, by the way, even if you choose not to vote on November 6--vote with your time, and your money, and the way you speak. Buy from companies that support what you value (even if that value is "companies who produce very inexpensive products", it counts). Spend your time doing things that align with what you believe is true, not the opposite. Speak in the ways that you really believe the Lord would have you speak.
Ultimately, those choices are going to make a much bigger difference than Mittens or PBO.
Cheers,
Breanna
1 comment:
Although, there are many other many races with admirable candidates that I WILL be voting for. So going to the polls is still happening for me.
Baba
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