Archive for September 2008
A choice in voting.
I was reading this commentary written by Penn Jillette for CNN (via) and was surprised how several people took this comment of his:
So remember, the only way to waste your vote is to vote!
Why are people seeing this as him saying not to vote? When it’s actually the opposite? Just before this comment he points out that he has other candidates he’d rather see in office than Obama or McCain, but knows they don’t have a shot. So, in this comment is a statement that you can vote for what you support, even if you don’t have a shot and are “wasting” your vote, but to do this you have to go out and vote.
On the other side of things I’m tired of people saying that choosing not to vote is unpatriotic. The fact is exercising the choice to vote or not is a freedom we have. If there is no one that I feel I want to support on a ballot, I shouldn’t feel inclined to vote or even choose between which one I despise less and vote for them. Why can’t I withhold my vote in a statement that none of the candidates deserve it? Isn’t this an just as much a statement of my freedom? I want to believe in and support those whom I vote for, I don’t want to be reduced to choosing between the lesser of two evils.
