I can recall sitting in gov't. class and my teacher, a well-known-so-called Democrat, whatever that is, told "his" students, "If you don't vote, then you don't have a right to complain." I didn't raise my hand and explain why I strongly disagreed with what he just said. Instead I just sat there thinking he is "full of it." I don't vote because casting a vote for any of these candidates is a vote for failure. The politicians that are elected still have in there heads "people are kings of the world and supposed to be kings of the world." If you listen hard enough, you can hear them say we are the world. And if you look at them hard enough, that is what they are representing. No one asks these people what the true world means to them or what is our niche, our contribution, along with the rest of the community. If anyone has a right to complain, it's the nonvoter. What do you think? • Ishmael.org, the work & philosophy of Daniel Quinn

I can recall sitting in gov’t. class and my teacher, a well-known-so-called Democrat, whatever that is, told “his” students, “If you don’t vote, then you don’t have a right to complain.” I didn’t raise my hand and explain why I strongly disagreed with what he just said. Instead I just sat there thinking he is “full of it.”

I don’t vote because casting a vote for any of these candidates is a vote for failure. The politicians that are elected still have in there heads “people are kings of the world and supposed to be kings of the world.” If you listen hard enough, you can hear them say we are the world. And if you look at them hard enough, that is what they are representing.

No one asks these people what the true world means to them or what is our niche, our contribution, along with the rest of the community. If anyone has a right to complain, it’s the nonvoter. What do you think?

It’s a well-worn cliché that “If you don’t vote, then you don’t have a right to complain.” This means that everyone who hears it just nods and says, “Uh-huh,” without examining it.

If you vote for someone or something, and your candidate or proposition loses, what good does having “a right to complain” do you? Exactly where do you lodge your complaint? And exactly where is it written that you need to have a “right” in order to complain? Do people too young to vote have no right to complain? If in good conscience you can’t vote for any candidate in a presidential election, you have legitimate grounds for complaint.

As Jerry Garcia (probably a nonvoter) once said, “Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil”—and that’s something to complain about (and you don’t need a right to do it).

ID: 626
posted:
updated: 08 Apr 2003

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