Worse Than Vote or Die

Can I just say how pissed off I am at this voting awareness PSA?

First, how condescending can you be? Look, actors, just because your place in life happens to involve greater access to certain media does not mean that your views or beliefs are any more relevant or important than any of ours. Of course, it doesn't mean that your views are worthless, either - I am not arguing that actors should be ignored or censored when it comes to political beliefs. But this ad campaign goes too far...you can just see and hear and feel the "Oh, you don't vote...well eff you because clearly you don't give a crap about anything and all you do is sit around and smoke pot."

Second, I'm sorry to say this Leonardo DiCaprio, Whoopi Goldberg and Courtney Cox-Arquette, but you know something? My vote does not count. I'll go Biden-esque here, let me say that again: MY VOTE DOES NOT COUNT. It doesn't matter! With the current electoral college system in place, your vote is relevant if and only if you live in a swing state. My options are to vote in Connecticut or New York. Yes, I could see these being REAL decisive states with lots of questions and doubts about which candidate will carry them. Sarcasm aside, they're going Obama. They were going Obama whether Obama knew it or not...because they're blue states. They're DEEP blue states. So why should I cast my lot in with the other party-following voters?

Third, I don't like these candidates. Neither of them. McCain scares me and he's about to die. Obama is entirely too inexperienced to run our country at a time when war with Iran looms and a second Depression is already upon us. So, why the hell should I vote? Does it mean I don't care...oh right, I guess I can't have ANY OTHER POSSIBLE LEGITIMATE REASON for not voting. It's not like...it could be a social protest or a belief that voting is a waste of my time because no matter which candidate wins, our country's policies won't be how I want them. No...clearly it means I "don't care about" Darfur or Medicare or old people or black people or education or any of the other myriad concerns you actors have so graciously informed me exist.

I have more reasons, besides the smugness, but I'll end this post now. Please, I beg you, if you feel that your vote doesn't count or if you don't like either candidate, DONT VOTE...don't simply bow down to party lines...that is not what our Founding Fathers would have wanted.

~JSK

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Eight minute response here before sleep. Here we go.

1. Categorical imperative. Yes, okay, common logic and reason would dictate that living in NJ/NY/CT/RI/MA means that your state's electoral college votes will be going to whomever has a (D) next to their name. But when you make the argument that you shouldn't vote because it doesn't matter, at some point it does reach a Kantian level of "what if everyone thought this way." No, I'm not going to defend the Electoral College (in fact I prefer the NPVIC as a de facto method of removing it) but even given the pointlessness of the exercise, it must be and will be done by SOME, and thereby is irresponsible to argue should not be done by others.

2. Obama over McCain. Ok, I don't really give weight to the "inexperience" argument personally, but I can see it as a valid line of political criticism, even if John McCain's campaign over the past five weeks has been run shittier and gives me less confidence about the future than the Detroit Lions' offense. (Dan Orlovsky -- the pride of UConn!) So why am I going to the polls in three weeks in a pointless exercise and voting Obama? Because Sarah Palin scares the everloving fuck out of me.

-KSH (is there anyway to change to my initials? I'm new at these intrablag things.)



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I'm not sure what you mean by "change your initials." Because you clearly understood how to edit this post so if your question was how to literally alter the letters that appear in the blog, I'd imagine you'd have figured that out as well. If the question refers to the fact that your middle name doesn't start with an S (it's Matthew isn't it?)...well then I dunno what to tell you, there. I'm sure you could just post as whatever initials you want to pretend you have.

But to your arguments: (5 minute response before I'm off to read 120 pages of Constitutional Torts)

1) This is the argument I get in response to my griping. And it's one I fully expected you (or anyone else) to make. It's a fantastic philosophical/abstract argument and Immanuel would be proud (even despite his Categorical Imperative having been successfully and forcefully rebutted/rejected numerous times). But my problem is wholly practical. I do not see why I need to take the time out of my day to go get a friggin' form, fill it out and mail it in. This is taking away valuable free time, which I could be using to watch Law and Order repeats or stare into my empty refrigerator (these are things I consider more valuable than voting). It will NEVER be the case, practically, that my blue state (or any deep blue state) will suddenly have an epidemic of like-minded thinkers who decide "eh, fuck it" and throw the balance of power out of whack. And it could very well be because they actually like the Democrat candidate. Don't get me wrong, I'm not telling EVERYONE not to vote. People will and do have legit reasons to cast their ballot. My only problem is with people who normally wouldn't vote anyway, but then, seeing a bunch of actors telling them how important it is for them to pick someone, get up and cast a vote simply based on party affiliations or like...a certain candidate's view on rap music (or whatever it is you damn kids listen to these days...).

2) Obama? Really? Let me tell you, this guy was Chief Editor of the Harvard Law Review. That only implies one thing. No, it's not "he's smart" because I can tell you from experience that not all CE's of Law Reviews are intelligent. It just means he's a prick that everyone else at school hated. Now...that may not be reason enough not to vote for him...because honestly, we've had some prick presidents who I woulda voted for (Clinton, JFK, Martin van Buren, etc.). But is "Sarah Palin scares me" a good reason to vote for Obama? Cause that's not really a vote for Obama...that's a vote for whoever the hell else there is. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. The fact is, these are two of the weakest presidential candidates we've put forward in decades...and that does not bode well for our country. Obama's fiscal liberalness will not help our economy (FDR did not get us out of the Great Depression, WWII did). McCain's oldness will not help our economy either (because he'll die and Sarah Palin will take over and propose that we just print 300million new dollars and give every citizen a million dollars).

Rant over.
~JSK