You Should Vote If...

[El Veto-Voter]

You Should Vote If...

If you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that nothing bad can result from your action.

If you can accurately predict what the winning politicians will do, and that it will all be good.

If you are willing to take the blame for everything the politicians and their minions do in your name.

If you agree with everything the political system stands for and everything it does.

If you are willing to take responsibility for the next war, the next recession, the next stage of riots, the horrors of the drug wars, and the waste of trillions of dollars and millions of lives that result annually from government programs.

If you accept being pledged as collateral for the national debt.

If you would be willing to co-sign a blank-check loan for the political establishment.

If you favor terrorism, war, mass murder, theft, pillaging, corruption, and the perversion of power.

If you are corrupt and plan to profit from the system.

If you want to force your will on other people.

Consider it carefully. Considerate people don't vote.

[Philly]

If considerate people don't vote, who does that leave deciding our leadership?

[El Veto-Voter]

[quote="Philly"]If considerate people don't vote, who does that leave deciding our leadership?[/quote]

The same bunch of insiders who will decide it if everybody votes.

The difference is, that those who don't vote are not responsibile for the carnage.

We haven't given our permission for them to rule over us.

We refuse to sign the contract (even though they have broken all of our fingers).

Governments will always weild power. Masters will always rule.

Electing one's masters does not make one any less a slave. But, it makes one a willing participant in the servitude of all.

[Philly]

Waiving your right to vote to does not imply non-consent to being ruled by a leader chosen by others. Quite the opposite.

[El Veto-Voter]

[quote="Philly"]Waiving your right to vote to does not imply non-consent to being ruled by a leader chosen by others. Quite the opposite.[/quote]

Ah, but it does, my friend. It's all in the terminology.

Voting is neither a "right" nor a "duty", it is a "privilege".

"Privileges" are given to certain "privileged (privy liege)" persons in exchange for their support of their "leige lords".

Taking advantage of a "privilege" creates a "leige relationship" with the "leige lords". It is a contract stating that the "leige" accepts whatever the "master" rules.

Since I don't intend to be a "privy liege", I reject the "privilege", refuse the contract, and live a considerate life.

That doesn't mean that the "liege masters" won't pillage me. However, it will be without my consent.

[Philly]

Besides the fact that you made up that etymology for the word "privilege", voting is a right.

[El Veto-Voter]

[quote="Philly"]Besides the fact that you made up that etymology for the word "privilege", voting is a right.[/quote]

Voting, like driving, is a privilege, not a right.

They are created by similar sets of laws spelling out to whom the privilege belongs, and limiting it so other people cannot do it. That is privilege.

One does not need to register to use one's rights. Registration is for privileged acts.

One registers to drive, to vote, to form a corporation, to join the military, to join this forum. Those are all privileges.

One need not register to have any right.

There is no official registry of those who have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or freedom of association. When gun ownership changed to a "registered" status, it meant that it was no longer a right, it became a "privilege" in those places that require it. (BTW: The right to self defense exists even without guns.)

There is also no age barrier, or citizenship requirement for using a "right".

Obviously, there is no "right" to vote.

[Philly]

You are just making things up and assigning definitions to them.

[spacemonkey]

As important as voting is, its never done by the majority of those eligible. Some primaries are usually well below 10%.

[Spider]