Don’t vote
Posted: January 10th, 2011 | Author: Kari | Filed under: Estonia, politics, thoughts | 3 Comments »In less than two months we will have parliamentary elections In Estonia.
I keep hearing that people should vote in the elections in any case, even if they do not feel that there are anyone who they could vote for or if people think the system is fundamentally flawed. They say that if you do not vote, you will not have a right to complain later. That is not true.
I refuse to vote for the party or person I detest the least. If I am going to vote, then I want to vote FOR someone who I believe in to make life better and represent me as best they can. Currently I cannot see that I have any connection to any person I have ever voted for (and I have dutifully voted each and every election).
Life has changed quite fundamentally in the last 20 or 10 years, but democracy has not. It is still the essentially the same system as was in use 10 or 20 years ago. How bizarre is it in today’s age that the main influence I have over who governs me is every four years through a convoluted system of political parties and candidates. How come there has been no innovation in the election procedure except for the possibility of not going to a physical location to cast my vote.
The only way to change the system would be to found my own political party, win the elections and then hope that the party has not yet been corrupted by the system so that to drive through any kind of meaningful reform. That seems like an impossibly difficult task.
So I take the easier road and simply not vote.
If you can’t find anything you like on TV then you don’t watch the least crappiest show. You don’t watch TV.
If you don’t find a university where they teach you what you want the way you want, then you don’t go to university.
So why should you have to vote for a crappy politician in an election, when you can simply not vote and try to achieve your aims in other ways.
1) Your second analogy with the university does not hold up to empricial evidence.
2) You should not call on people to not voting, you should call on people to vote responsibliy, which would include considering all the options carefully and if necessary deciding not to vote.
That’s what I was trying to say. People should vote for people and parties they think will be good for them. They should not vote just because voting is the right thing to do and not voting is somehow bad.
I agree and have always been acting accordingly. In all situations I try to voice my opinion and give feedback through whatever channel is available but I am 30 now and have found myself not voting in any political election. I am comfortable with this position but it makes me wonder if I will ever vote.