Not voting: tantamount to treason

Here’s an unpleasant political truth for all those voters who have decided to take a pass this year: Someone will win each and every election. By not voting, you make the problems you hate — worse. Much worse. My question to you is pretty simple:

Just how stupid are you?

You are not the only ones frustrated by the nature of contemporary politics; you’re just the quitters. There is so much about this year’s election that disgusts and frightens me, but I don’t see burying my head in the sand as a reasonable option. At the very least, I’m always going to prefer a lesser-of-two-evils outcome. In 2000 and 2004, I was not an enthusiastic supporter of the Democratic nominee, but I knew for damn sure that George W Bush was a terrible outcome. (I was right, of course.) I did all I could to support Kerry in 2004 even though I was still angry at how he and other Democrats had back-stabbed Howard Dean in the primary.

Democracy is messy, and the outcomes are frequently less than optimal. But the fewer people who participate, the messier it is and the uglier the results. Low voter turnout generally leads to radical candidates winning, and that leads to the kind of divisive political climate the non-voters claim gives them despair. But it is their own damn fault for sitting out in the first place! “Quitters never win” and all that.

I don’t give a rat’s ass how much you despise what office holders have done or not done. I don’t give a damn if you hate politics, hate the ads, hate the process, blah blah blah. If you are a citizen, you have a responsibility to make sure you do what you can to make the system work better. Opting out is, in my book, tantamount to treason. Look at how united we felt on the day Obama took office (including the opposition, which was united against him, but united, and engaged, nonetheless). Imagine if people had remained that energized as the process of governing unfolded. Instead most of those who had supported Obama folded up their tents and went back home, paying scant attention and leaving politics to the few who would bother to show up and try to drive outcomes their way.

And now these quitters are whining even more about outcomes. And quitting even more.

Honestly, I want to be a man of peace, but I feel this urge to find each and every one of these losers and slap them silly. Pissing and moaning about “politicians” and the rest is as destructive as anything a citizen can do, short of sneaking a few terrorists into the country. Look at the results of this mass abdication of responsibility: Corporations are buying elections, the radical right is in control of messaging, and Congress has become non-functional because Republican Senators believe, with good reason, they can get away with blocking all process on legislation. All of which is made possible because millions of Americans have announced they won’t be voting and that as far as they are concerned, it makes no difference to them who wins.

Because, as we learned in 2000, there is no difference in the parties, right?

Jesus, how stupid will people remain? As a relatively optimistic citizen, I retain the hope that better days always lie ahead. Yet my hope is sorely tested by so many millions of my fellow citizens refusing to learn that not voting leads to bad outcomes. When people vote, politicians pay attention — to them. When people remain engaged and don’t leave politicians to their own devices, those pols pay attention — to them. When careers rest on votes, those casting the votes are the ones who call the shots. Toss aside your ballot and say it doesn’t matter, and you automatically hand power to whoever does vote, and the people who buy their vote.

You don’t have to like your choices they way you like your breakfast cereal. Quitting is not an option; it’s an admission of defeat. Not by the system, but by your own moral bearings. If your local electeds and candidates know that 90% of the voters will show up, they are going to base more and more of their work on what will win the support of the majority of those voters. When they realize that 70% or fewer will vote, their concern will lie with only a very few of those voters. In other words, lower turnout means an increasingly tiny portion of the populace will decide the direction government goes.

That’s not the fault of politicians; that’s squarely on the shoulders of the quitters.

This is no time for giving up; this nation needs everyone to step up. Maybe you hate Congress, your city council, political ads and all the rest. Tough shit; suck it up and be a grown-up. Vote for the least objectionable candidate, but vote. Send the message that you are paying attention and you are going to be deciding who gets these jobs. If you do not vote, you only abdicate your power as a citizen. Someone is going to win each and every seat up for election. The question is: will you help make that decision, or will you collaborate in the destruction of democracy by walking away?

You hate what’s going on in American politics? Find a mirror and have a look at who is to blame.