So today's the day and I still can't decide.
I figure that if I really can't pick, I just won't vote. But then I started thinking: if I don't vote, then am I not allowed to bitch for the next couple of years until the next election? It's not like I'm going to stop paying my taxes this year, so surely, I still have the right to care about how well (or horribly) fiscal management goes.
Does my refusal to be a part of the process exclude me from the repercussions (or benefits...if we're lucky. ha). And if it does, then how is that any different from the next guy who votes for the candidate who DOES end up being the most atrocious tax-money spender?
Does democracy still extend to the non-voters? About 40% of Canadian citizens don't vote. So then I started thinking that maybe voting should be mandatory. Several countries do have this - it's illegal not to vote.
But would this go against the very concept of democracy? How can people be forced to choose? Would the pressures of mandatory voting actually lend more harm to the process (through random and careless voting)?
Just some questions for the mind, I guess.
Peace,
- knowledge
-----
I'm also putting together 2 years worth of textbook picture fails. Hang tight for that one.
don't listen to anyone who tells you that "if you don’t vote, you have no right to complain". It's a fallacy, and no intelligent person should ever say this unless they're being sarcastic.
ReplyDeleteBoth the US Constitution and the Canadian Bill of Rights guarantee the freedom of expression. This includes complaining, whining, bitching, and questioning. Nowhere is it stipulated in either document that this right is contingent upon whether you voted or not. So while this might be a cute little sentiment to say in order to encourage people to vote, no one loses any rights by not voting, and anyone that insists otherwise is simply wrong.
That said, I recommend that everyone should make a conscious decision to vote or not vote, because it's important.
Exactly. And it's hard to say that whoever doesn't vote has no right to complain because they pay taxes just like anyone else. And what if the candidates suck?
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered how it would turn out if you were allowed to vote against a candidate, instead of spoiling the ballot or choosing not to vote at all. One person that votes in favour of someone would be cancelled out by another one extremely opposed to that candidate...