undergroundrr
11-07-2012, 07:20 AM
I went back and forth yesterday on whether or not to vote. I totally agree with the tenet that voting is harmful because it legitimizes the state.
"A man is no less a slave because he is allowed to choose a new master once in a term of years." - Lysander Spooner.
I also believe George Carlin is correct, "if you vote, you have no right to complain." And I knew that in the end my vote made no difference whatsoever.
I finally came down on the side of voting. Why?
An individual's ability to make a difference in electoral politics is in the work done during campaigns to persuade potential voters. In other words, my vote doesn't count, but through my efforts before the election, I could influence tens, hundreds, even thousands to consider a liberty vote. Ten votes count. A hundred votes count. A thousand votes count. But it would be seen as hypocritical for a non-voter to ask others to vote.
After seeing the progress the r3VOLution has made in the last 5 years, I believe the process of awakening can continue to expand with the hard work of people like those found on RPF. But the influence doesn't come at the ballot box. It comes through continued effort to influence votes long before voting day through campaigning, canvassing and becoming a delegate. The Texas Republican Party for one is a different beast than it was 5 years ago. It achieved basic fairness in its last convention and is now peopled with liberty lovers at the top level. Even if I concede that the presidency and the big federal elections might be impossible to sway, the network of political offices that operate on the city and county level are imminently winnable through focused local action. But if I want to convince others to vote a certain way, I cannot have any credibility if I have to admit that I didn't vote myself. Therefore, it is crucial to have a record of diligent and well-researched voting.
Again George Carlin - "if you vote, you have no right to complain." However, the next election will not be won by the side that complains most effectively. It will be won by a candidate who can convey the most compelling vision for the future of each individual citizen of the United States. If you don't vote, you can't ask others to vote for that vision.
Everybody who supported the candidacy of Ron Paul on some level asserted a belief that electoral politics can nudge their world in a positive direction. Even if electing a just and wise president isn't feasible, elections can also be used to reshape a worm-eaten, rotten institution like the national GOP. I think it was effectively dismantled last night.
Although I have deep respect for those who abstain on principle, I'll keep voting.
"A man is no less a slave because he is allowed to choose a new master once in a term of years." - Lysander Spooner.
I also believe George Carlin is correct, "if you vote, you have no right to complain." And I knew that in the end my vote made no difference whatsoever.
I finally came down on the side of voting. Why?
An individual's ability to make a difference in electoral politics is in the work done during campaigns to persuade potential voters. In other words, my vote doesn't count, but through my efforts before the election, I could influence tens, hundreds, even thousands to consider a liberty vote. Ten votes count. A hundred votes count. A thousand votes count. But it would be seen as hypocritical for a non-voter to ask others to vote.
After seeing the progress the r3VOLution has made in the last 5 years, I believe the process of awakening can continue to expand with the hard work of people like those found on RPF. But the influence doesn't come at the ballot box. It comes through continued effort to influence votes long before voting day through campaigning, canvassing and becoming a delegate. The Texas Republican Party for one is a different beast than it was 5 years ago. It achieved basic fairness in its last convention and is now peopled with liberty lovers at the top level. Even if I concede that the presidency and the big federal elections might be impossible to sway, the network of political offices that operate on the city and county level are imminently winnable through focused local action. But if I want to convince others to vote a certain way, I cannot have any credibility if I have to admit that I didn't vote myself. Therefore, it is crucial to have a record of diligent and well-researched voting.
Again George Carlin - "if you vote, you have no right to complain." However, the next election will not be won by the side that complains most effectively. It will be won by a candidate who can convey the most compelling vision for the future of each individual citizen of the United States. If you don't vote, you can't ask others to vote for that vision.
Everybody who supported the candidacy of Ron Paul on some level asserted a belief that electoral politics can nudge their world in a positive direction. Even if electing a just and wise president isn't feasible, elections can also be used to reshape a worm-eaten, rotten institution like the national GOP. I think it was effectively dismantled last night.
Although I have deep respect for those who abstain on principle, I'll keep voting.