I Don’t Vote Because I Respect It Too Much

i don’t follow politics. it has never interested me. it has never got my undivided attention. and probably to this day i still don’t care much about it. but i will say we are living in interesting times. that this year i have stopped to watch something political (all of three times). and though i had wished to be a part of history prior to this day, that i still am somewhat glad that i am not a registered voter.

it is not that i’m apathetic to my country. it is not that i have utter disregard and disrespect to the democratic process. and it is not that i don’t believe that my vote will not count. it is because i have complete respect of the voting privilege that don’t vote.

because i view voting with such high esteem, i don’t take it lightly. if i were ever to vote, i want to be a completely informed voter. the problem is that i don’t keep up with the nation’s political climate nor pay attention to the laws, bills, measures, props, etc. that are presented. in fact i don’t think i even tell you the difference between the laters. so when an election year comes around, ads for and against fill the television and radio waves for your vote. how then does one keep apprised and clear without the bias noise?

i don’t know whether or not i’ll vote in four years. i don’t know if the times will be more interesting to get me watching something political more than three times every four years. i don’t know if i would even care to change my…

yeah… that’s the operative word isn’t it? “change”. our country has for the most part voted for change and for the individual they believe will bring about change. so i guess what i’m getting at is that although we hope for and strive for change how far are we willing to go? does it end with my part at the voting booth? does the change history of a candidate guarantee change in the future? am i willing to make and follow through with changes in my life in alignment with the ideals i voted for?

until i come to terms with all that, i’m not going to vote. because as Stan Lee once penned, “with great power comes great responsibility.” when i do vote, i’m going vote like i’m wielding a lightsaber… with power and precision as every vote should be casted… not just for voting-sake. and a vote, especially a vote for change, is indeed powerful.

3 Responses to "I Don’t Vote Because I Respect It Too Much"

Sharon says:

5 November 2008 at 6:39 pm

Interesting, James. I’m going to have to amicably disagree with you on this and point out a couple of things for you to consider. I hope you don’t mind.

1.) To be a “completely informed voter” is impossible. All that is possible is for one to make a decision based on his/her best knowledge and judgment–which is always incomplete and imperfect. One can’t know everything about anything. It’s simply not possible.

Not voting because you can’t know everything about the issues is like refusing to believe in God until given irrefutable physical evidence that God exists; or someone refusing to commit to marriage until guaranteed that the marriage will last; or refusing to register a child in school because you don’t have a guarantee that he/she will have a great school experience. At some point, one has to make a choice based on his/her best knowledge and judgment, and in politics, as in many cases, it’s also a leap of faith. That doesn’t mean we should avoid it.

2.) If everyone believed as you did, no progress would be made in this country, because the electoral process would probably fail. Those who came before us worked hard for the freedom to vote, and some suffered greatly. It is our privilege to be able to vote and to respect the process enough to keep it going. To that end, it is our responsibility to become informed as much as our personal circumstances allow and to vote as best we know how. Yes, with great power comes great responsibility. As citizens of a powerful nation, we have already been given great responsibility, which is to vote.

That doesn’t mean we have to spend an inordinate amount of time reading everything available on every single issue. The politically passionate and savvy can do that. All it takes is an evening spent reading the official voter’s guide, and if necessary looking up a few pro and con website online on issues that are yet unclear. And then make a decision as best one can. I agree that one should not vote without any knowledge of the issues. That’s simply irresponsible. But I believe it’s our responsibility as citizens to become informed to a reasonable extent.

Anyway, these are my personal opinions. Hopefully, I haven’t offended you. I just wanted to present these points for you to consider for the future when deciding whether or not to vote. Obviously, I would encourage you to vote, and to do so responsibly. 🙂
James Ho says:

5 November 2008 at 8:51 pm

hi Sharon… thanks for the points that you made.

what i was trying to get at was not attempting to achieve a “100%” completeness of being an informed voter. i suppose i could have explained myself better. i guess it was just my raw response of the evening’s event. when i contrasted how my current attitude and lifestyle was in regards to our national affairs, i would not consider myself an active citizen or an “informed voter” if i only spend three short moments watching/reading something once every four years on the election year. so to use your example of belief in God, i would not consider myself a Christian, let alone an active Christian, if i only did Christian activities one to three times every four years.

which brings me to your second point. obviously God hasn’t blessed me with the interest or the acumen for national affairs and politics. but that isn’t an excuse to at least try to be aware of what is going on. the first step i need to take is to get my lazy butt to at least register to vote. and with THAT change i must do my part and follow through with paying attention more, understanding what goes on beyond my own microcosm of life, “to become informed to a reasonable extent”.

right now, my lifestyle is not set up to implement those things… i don’t think it ever was. and it is my lifestyle that must change to allow any one of those things to begin happening. a Christian is a Christian, not because one day s/he decides to accept Jesus as their savior. in being a Christian, s/he walks in way that is life- and lifestyle-transforming through the years, months, days AFTER that life changing decision to follow Christ.

you haven’t offended me. in fact you have encouraged me. i really, really want to vote. not in a way that gets me informed and caught up during an election year (because to me that is almost like a Cliff’s Notes version) but as i witness how things are done in the in-between time. i think that way will allow for better discernment when one is confronted with passionate and emotional ads accusing the other party of what-not. so pray that i truly “watch and pray” in the coming four years. i really, really want to vote… and to vote responsibly.
Sharon says:

5 November 2008 at 11:49 pm

Hi James,

I appreciate your thoughts, and I understand what you’re saying much better. There was a time when I totally did not make room in my life for politics, and there are times still when it feels overwhelming. I mean, we all have so much stuff to do and so little time.

I do think that becoming politically involved is a journey. One has to start somewhere, and it’s totally okay to start slow. I think you’re approaching it thoughtfully, and when/if you do vote, I believe you’ll do so very responsibly. I think that’s admirable.

I think one must approach politics thoughtfully and rationally, just as one does religion, without getting swept up in emotions or especially fear-mongering. One thing that has helped me evaluate what commentators and pundits are saying about political issues is to take into consideration who those people are, how much I respect them on other issues, and what their political biases are.

For example, I know Alex Carpenter on the Spectrum blog researches political issues thoroughly and is very involved politically. I also know that he approaches issues thoughtfully from a Christian perspective, so I trust that his opinion is both well-founded and well-intentioned. I also know that he’s fairly outspoken and very liberal politically, so I take all these factors into consideration when I consider his viewpoint on a particular issue and how my own is similar or different from his.

Anyway, I wish you all the best in taking the journey! I know you’ll be a responsible voter, and your voice will matter.

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