I was recently discussing politics with a friend who said, “I’m not even going to bother to vote. It’s like the lesser of two evils.” Feeling that Obama was inexperienced on the Iraq war and McCain represented more of the same type of politics we’ve had over the last eight years she feels like there’s not really a good option. Add to that the voting debacles over the last few years, and by her reasoning, what’s the point?
Do We Little People Really Make a Difference?
Call me idealistic, but I think that we little people do make a difference. It was we little people who helped Ron Paul raise record breaking millions in one day. It is we little people who allow Barack Obama to run for electoral office without the padding of lobbyists and special interest funding. It’s we little people that boosted McCain from being an unknown underdog to the presumptive Republican nominee. More so in this election, we’ve seen people come out to help, to vote, and we’ve given new life to the term “grass roots.”
Voting for the Lesser of Two Evils is Better Than Not Voting At All
Personally, I find myself choosing between what I consider the lesser of two evils. On issues that are specifically important to me, both major party candidates are somewhere in the middle without a strong stance. Or their strong stance is in disagreement with mine.
Perhaps you find yourself in the same boat. So why bother? Why bother going out to the polls and voting. My simple reason: because I can.
Did you see the recent news in Africa about President Mugabe? If you didn’t, you should make a point to look it up. This is on highly publicized “election” but the truth of the matter is most of the earth’s population can’t vote. It’s not an option. In the worst case scenarios, citizens are intimidated into voting one way or killed for voting another.
Someone’s father, someone’s brother, and someone’s son died for my right to vote. I’m not willing to give up that right–and so I’ll exercise it.
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