Sunday, October 31, 2010

Why You Should Not Vote



An important election is coming up this Tuesday. But does voting really matter? Will your vote make a difference? Nope. In fact, you are wasting your time, and no one wants to waste their time. Here are the reasons why you shouldn't vote.

1. YOUR VOTE IS STATISTICALLY INSIGNIFICANT.

The odds of your one vote affecting the outcome of an election are miniscule. You are more likely to be struck by lightning on the way to the poll than the contest coming down to your single vote. When you factor in the margin of error, a single vote is utterly meaningless. Steven E. Landsburg writing in Slate said that you would do better to go buy a lottery ticket instead of casting a ballot and then donating the winnings to a campaign. The odds of you winning are virtually none but are better than making a difference with a single vote.

2. VOTERS ARE IDIOTS.

It is probably a good thing that votes count for so little since your average voter is so ignorant of either news or basic civics and history that we can't consider any vote they make to be an informed choice. Every election season, some comedian or Howard Stern does streetside interviews with people asking them questions and milking the laughs as utter fools tell the camera they support the "Obama/Palin" ticket. The reason the country is in the shit is pretty simple. This is a nation of idiots. The result is that the public votes to enlarge government and cut taxes at the same time. This is how you get some Tea Party fucktard telling Obama to keep government out of Medicare. The reality is that the seventeenth amendment was a stupid move because it removed an important roadblock to public stupidity.

3. POLITICIANS ARE LIARS.

Even if you are a well informed voter who votes for a politician who subscribes 100% to your views and your single vote made the difference, it still wouldn't matter. That is because that politician is a lying sack of shit. This Tuesday, Tea Partiers and pissed off independents are going to give the Congress (or half of it) back to the GOP in hopes of lower taxes and reduced government spending. They are fooling themselves if they think this will happen in much the same way that Obama voters thought they were getting change when they elected that lying son of a bitch. Newt Gingrich lied back in 94 with his Contract with America. John Boehner is lying today with his Pledge to America. It's the same shit with a slightly different garnish. This is also why the national debt was doubled under a Republican president. They tell people what they want to hear to get elected and ignore them. Since voters are fucking idiots, they can get away with this. When you vote, you are telling them you love the taste of their bullshit.

4. MONEY TALKS.

If you are rich, you can make a huge difference. You can either buy media supporting your views or contribute to a campaign that supports your views. Or you can put the money directly into some corrupt politician's pocket and buy him or her outright. In the choice between ballots or cash, cash always wins. ALWAYS. And you are never going to see money leave the system. If you want to make a difference, the first thing you need to do is get rich.

5. VOTING IS IMMORAL.

Lysander Spooner had it right when he wrote, ". . .men practice this tyranny over him by the use of the ballot." When you vote for a tyrant who violates the human rights of others, you become complicit in their crimes. This is why government and politicians urge you to vote. They want your complicity. I know you have heard this argument before. If you don't vote, then you don't have the right to complain. This is absurd. This is like saying a rape victim deserves what she got because she didn't scream out. But on the flip side, by voting, you are giving your consent to be ruled by a liar. When I tell people I voted for so-and-so, they immediately throw it in my face when that so-and-so does precisely the things I oppose as if I voted for that sort of tomfuckery. It is a Catch-22. You are damned for voting and damned for not voting. You are either wrong for participating or not participating in the tyranny.

WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

The reason this country is in a fucked up state is because the average US citizen is a fucking idiot. That is the bottom line. This is why Democrats and Republicans govern almost identically. They reflect the popular opinion, and the popular opinion is exactly what you would expect from a fucking childish idiot--give me goodies but don't make me pay for them. Similarly, they want government to crack down on bad behavior while they engage in the bad behavior they want prohibited. This is how you get a drug addicted country supporting the continued War on Drugs while chopping and snorting another line. This is democracy. This is what happens when people get exactly what they want which is schizophrenia.

The answer is to have those people get smart. Even dictators fear the populace and will appease them. But this is not likely to happen. Even my own efforts are spent less in trying to persuade than it is to ridicule stupidity. In short, I like insulting and making fun of morons. So, my final thoughts are directed at you, Dear Voter. I think the answer is violence. I don't mean violence directed at the government or your fellow citizens. I mean violence of the self-inflicted kind. The best thing you can do in your ignorance is to put the barrel of the gun in your own mouth and pull the trigger. Blow those useless brains all over a wall. Or you could wise up and read and learn something about history and economics. Or you can do the next best thing which is to stay home and not vote and keep watching daytime TV and collecting your government check. Apathy is preferable to ignorance. And when those government checks end, go get a fucking job. You can't live on theft forever.

Smart people don't vote. They are outnumbered by the fools.

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