The Greatest Democracy in the World Doesn’t Vote

Why Do So Few People Vote in the U.S.? According to this article the United States lags behind just about everyone else in voter turn out. Even Iraq, where we are supposedly failing to build a democracy, voter turn out is higher than in the US.

I have to admit that in past years I’ve been guilty of not participating in the democratic process. To a large extent I feel like, what’s the point? Democrats or Republicans, despite their supposed differences in philosophies of governance, there isn’t much difference in the practice of that governance. In most cases, we’re not voting for anyone. We’re voting against someone. Politicians running for office usually talk more about the inadequacies of their opponent rather than why they and their programs are good for the constituency. So, I wonder. Maybe we should change the voting system. Instead of putting a check mark next to the candidate we support, we could put check marks next to the candidate or candidates we oppose. The candidate with the fewest votes wins?

Aloha

[posted with ecto]

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2 thoughts on “The Greatest Democracy in the World Doesn’t Vote”

  1. As a wise person once said, “If voting would change anything, they wouldn’t let us do it.”

  2. Hmmm, It seems that we just had a BIG change due to voting. My fear is that it is a change for the worse. I think a lot of people let their hate for a person shade their ability to be objective.

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