EPTThat's how my dad put it to me when I thought I was too good to vote or it was a waste of time. Voted every year after that!
Why do people in the US vote? - Page 25
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bRiz
United States113 Posts
That's how my dad put it to me when I thought I was too good to vote or it was a waste of time. Voted every year after that! | ||
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Defacer
Canada5052 Posts
On March 02 2012 14:17 Jayme wrote: I don't vote for president. Want to know why? I voted for Gore in 2000. The electoral college pretty much robbed me of my vote. Until that system is changed I remain disillusioned with it. I vote for other positions though...for all it matters (it doesn't) Voting is the LEAST you can do to support a candidate or contribute politically. But yeah, 2000 sucked balls. | ||
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Sumahi
Guam5609 Posts
I actively participate in the local elections, but as a territory, we have no power at the national level. All laws that come out of Washington D.C. apply to Guam, and we have neither a vote for President (including electoral college votes) or any vote in the US Congress. | ||
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BluePanther
United States2776 Posts
On March 02 2012 13:12 dAPhREAk wrote: i just tell them im a lawyer and then they hate me and excuse me. ;-) Lol, yep, best excuse ever. "I'm a law---" "Strike him." | ||
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nastyyy
United States262 Posts
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BluePanther
United States2776 Posts
On March 02 2012 13:36 Dryzt wrote: unless the investigators into it were murdered. There isn't a controversy unless the media reports on it and authorities investigate. If neither happens or those that do investigate are threatened or murdered (Investigator Raymond Lemme) then the story goes away. Raymond Lemme was a few days away from presenting his, as he put it, damning evidence, then guess what, he is found dead in a motel in a different state with all his files on the case gone and the police rule it a suicide. The crime scene pictures leek to the internet show mass bruising and other anomolies. That is a powerfull dis-incentive, and a clear example of how deep corruption runs in the US. I'm sorry, but political strategies in America aren't so black (Yes, I actually have been there). It's about raising money and spending it in ways to convince people (such as advertising) while doing things that the ordinary citizen can do (such as comment on videos and blogs about candidates). It's exactly like how every American citizen thinks it is. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's not backroom dealing and murders and vote rigging. It's not even CLOSE. | ||
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plogamer
Canada3132 Posts
Ideal democracy > Illusionary democracy > straight up dictatorship I suspect that a lack of political will and interest is hidden under the guise of 'disillusionment'. What have -you- done lately to change the system? I'm not asking for monumental actions, but as an old Russian (I think) saying goes, "Little drops of water wear down big stones." We, as human beings, have come a long way in history. We haven't reached the pinnacle of political perfection, and perhaps we never will. But to refuse to vote is a step backwards. To refuse to vote is to discard all our collective achievements. I hope we never take our freedoms for granted. If we don't partake in politics in a greater sense - not just voting, but also campaigning, rallying, etc.; excercising our political freedoms to its fullest potential, then we will never see any real change. For generations, we have just sat back and let politicians buy votes from us. We have done the barest minimum - only voting. And when we don't see results, we are disappointed and blame 'voting' | ||
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Kaitlin
United States2958 Posts
So, to answer your question, why so many Americans don't vote, because they are too stupid to cast an intelligent vote, so we're better off without those votes. | ||
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BluePanther
United States2776 Posts
On March 02 2012 14:38 Sumahi wrote: For me, I don't vote because I live in a colony/territory of the United States. My island is something that US owns, and has refused to allow to either become independent or become a state for more than a century. I actively participate in the local elections, but as a territory, we have no power at the national level. All laws that come out of Washington D.C. apply to Guam, and we have neither a vote for President (including electoral college votes) or any vote in the US Congress. Out of curiousity (I was just reading stuff on 51st state and such), what is the popular sentiment about this in Guam and why? I think it's a foregone conclusion that Puerto Rico will be given statehood when they finally ask for it, but Guam isn't a lock. And you do have some power at the national level by way of presidential primary votes, however limited it may be. | ||
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TheDraken
United States640 Posts
On March 02 2012 02:55 rapidash88 wrote: Things like the resistance to SOPA have shown to me that people can still weild influence in government. In my local election, the vote for a city council seat was decided by two votes, and I was glad to have voted. The issue in our national government is partly one of corruption (which happens in ALL governments to some extent) and the fact that our election system simple is not a very good one. The two party system that we have been forced into creates more corruption then other systems except the resistance wasn't done through the political system... our political system is fucking broken. we resisted it through mass demonstration. recently we've had to threaten greater levels of popular unrest to get our asshole politicians to do what we actually want them to do. if they keep going the way they are now, it's only a matter of time before people in this country start flipping cars and breaking windows. that's the one beautiful thing about our political system. it's so fucking incompetent that it couldn't save itself from a popular uprising. | ||
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theJob
272 Posts
US elections are run and won like toothpaste commercials. Most people didn't know what Obama, Bush, Clinton stood on fundamental issues – and that's exactly how it's supposed to be when the candidates are presented as a "good ol chap" who you want to have a beer with, and when empty slogans like "change" and "hope" overshadows concrete standpoints. Furthermore, since it's usually the candidate with the most sucessful marketing-campaign that wins it's also usually the canidate who has got the most of the private sector behind him who wins – and this is reflected in the policies enacted. The US basically has one big business party with two sligghtly different flavours aimed at pleasing their main constituents – big business – rather than the domestic population. | ||
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SafeAsCheese
United States4924 Posts
On March 02 2012 14:26 bRiz wrote: You vote because it's your right, and if you don't vote, you can't complain. That's how my dad put it to me when I thought I was too good to vote or it was a waste of time. Voted every year after that! And what would your dad say if every option to vote for was shit? | ||
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sunprince
United States2258 Posts
On March 02 2012 14:58 Kaitlin wrote:I don't understand the logic of complaints that the rich 1% control the government when they can only, at most, be 1% of the vote. People are stupid and easily swayed to either side by effective spending of money, which is why the candidate who spends the most money is nearly always the winner. As a consequence of the resulting political contributions arms race, politicians are beholden to the 1% who can throw enough money around to make or break an election. | ||
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red_b
United States1267 Posts
On March 02 2012 14:58 Kaitlin wrote: I don't understand the logic of complaints that the rich 1% control the government when they can only, at most, be 1% of the vote. let's say you own the only news station (which in 2012 is ridiculous but in the past would not have been) or the only paper in town. so now you control the information that most people get about candidates, issues, etc. and of course to be a serious candidate you need a huge war chest. billionaires can singlehandedly prop up failed campaigns (hello Newt). in America money is a greater power than any other. money writes opinion, shapes information and puts people in position to act. this whole 99% thing is a joke anyway. while it is good in theory, these people wont go out and vote. they didnt go vote in 2010 and they didnt go vote in important races like prop 8. just a bunch of people who are more concerned with voicing an opinion than making the small sacrifice required to actually get something done. the Tea Party losers, they vote. the evangelicals, they vote. the old people, they vote. by all means, I hope those people keep talking, and talking loud. but I lost faith that they would ever actually do anything a long time ago. | ||
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red_b
United States1267 Posts
statistically speaking, the vast majority of people fall within a very constrained range of intelligence. education, experience and opinion differ much more. so while you may think someone is wrong or ignorant, to say they are stupid is either ignorant or, in cases such as my own, supportive of a highly technocratic system. | ||
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BluePanther
United States2776 Posts
http://blog.cgpgrey.com/the-electoral-college/ | ||
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Typhon
United States387 Posts
On March 02 2012 15:30 SafeAsCheese wrote: And what would your dad say if every option to vote for was shit? You vote for the candidate you hate less. Or you give support to a candidate who you support more than either but has no hope of winning. Even if a third candidate doesn't win, if he has a strong showing then it encourages the primary parties to lean in that direction so as to convince voters to vote for them. Ultimately, the candidates have to kind of develop a platform that 50.1% of Americans feel comfortable voting for. | ||
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synapse
China13814 Posts
On March 02 2012 15:41 Typhon wrote: You vote for the candidate you hate less. Or you give support to a candidate who you support more than either but has no hope of winning. Even if a third candidate doesn't win, if he has a strong showing then it encourages the primary parties to lean in that direction so as to convince voters to vote for them. Ultimately, the candidates have to kind of develop a platform that 50.1% of Americans feel comfortable voting for. Electoral college bro :T | ||
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theJob
272 Posts
Hopefully – instead of turning into apathy and dispair you guys do something about it like demonstrations, civil disobedience and organize yourselves. Just because the electoral system holds little hope doesn't mean that the us population can't change the country for the better by their own. | ||
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Tiegrr
United States607 Posts
On March 02 2012 14:40 BluePanther wrote: Lol, yep, best excuse ever. "I'm a law---" "Strike him." They also ask if you're racially prejudiced. My dad always says he's racist to all races except his own (Asian) and they strike him off the list. :l | ||
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