The Electoral Process

(This is a message to anybody who doesn't vote, an excerpt from conversations I've had, once quite recently.)

It's true; democracy doesn't work. I've voted for a losing party in absolutely every election since I turned 18. In each instance, my vote truly did not matter, and so it was effectively the same as if I hadn't voted at all. So yes, the system is flawed.

However, to change the system, the choice isn't between voting and not voting. That's a false dichotomy. The real choice is between voting and revolution. Either the system is changed from within or it is changed by force, so unless you're willing to pick up a weapon and literally fight for change, your only choice is to vote.

Most people that don't participate in elections use the "my vote doesn't matter" argument simply to justify their apathy, their laziness. They are actually unwilling to take steps towards any type of change, let alone the simpler of the two. There's an old saying, a well-worn Hollywood cliché, "we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way." Well, in our society, the easy way is voting and the hard way is revolution. The irony is, to actually change anything, the easy way is actually very hard. And it takes a long time.

So yes, it's true, my vote never made a difference. But somebody else's did. And I can live with this because I'm aware that I'm not willing to pick up a gun and fight. Not alone.

The system is flawed, but it's not enough just to talk about its failure. You have to understand its weaknesses; and the biggest weakness of all is to do absolutely nothing.