Don't Be a Sheep
By David M. Woods
Published September 21, 2006, 9:14 am in Voting & Partisanship.
Dear American Voter:
The next time you enter a voting booth, please don't be a sheep. Again.
For once, stand on your own two feet. Do not concern yourself with who "everyone else" is voting for. (You know the analogy your mother told you about the cliff; I don't need to repeat it here.) Quit following the rest of the flock. Make up your own mind where you stand on the issues, and vote what you believe in. Act like a man (or a woman), not a sheep.
Yeah, you're the one I'm talking to!! The one who, back in 2004 Presidential race, totally wasted your vote on George W. Bush or John Kerry because ... well, because "everyone else" was voting for one or the other.
You knew that Bush was a classic big spender - he proved that in his first term. (Prescription drug plan, No Child Left Behind, airline bailouts, Patriot Act, etc, etc.) You say you believe in "limited government", yet you voted for Bush anyway. Why? Because you're a sheep.
You knew that Kerry was not only a big spender, but also wishy-washy over whether he supported the Iraqi invasion or not. (To this day, I still don't know where he stands on the issue.) You say you were opposed to the war in Iraq, but you voted for Kerry anyway. I shouldn't have to say it but I will anyway: you're a spineless wimp.
The argument that there were no other choices just doesn't fly. Depending on what state you live in, there were ample other choices on the ballot. In 2004, at least 6 contenders for President were on the ballot in 27 states plus DC; at least 5 contenders were on the ballot in 34 states plus DC.
Let's suppose that you believe that the U.S. government is too large and too expensive and needs to be drastically cut back, and you were dead-set opposed to the Iraq war. If you really wanted to vote according to where you stood on those issues, you could have. But that would have required standing on your own two feet, making up your own mind, and ignoring the rest of the flock. And that, of course, is asking way too much.
Here are some of the common myths and alibis that yellow-belly voters like yourself might have used to excuse your wimpiness, and why the arguments won't carry water:
Low campaign budget
"But I haven't seen any of candidate so-and-so's ads on TV!"
From whence came the idea that big advertising bucks equals good statesmanship? Why should there be any correlation between how much money a candidate spends, and how well he keeps his promises? Campaign advertising is nothing but razzle-dazzle and fluff anyway, completely devoid of any true substance, designed for Jerry Springer fans and other boob-tube junkies. We'd all be better off if we ignored it completely.
In 2004, Presidential and Congressional candidates spent a whopping $4 billion . And that does not include spending on state and local races. Frankly, I am not impressed with a politician whose claim to fame is that he out-spent his opponent.
Some will say that all this high-price advertising is necessary to keep us all informed. But this is the Information Age, people! Anyone with Internet access - and that's just about everybody - can find out anything about anybody at the click of a button. All that mindless political advertising is nothing but noise. So break away from the flock, turn off the TV, and Google up a candidate to find out where he stands.
Comments & Trackbacks
By amber
March 14, 2007, 3:34 pm. PermaLink
i really enjoyed your essay. i share many of your beliefs except on i vote for the man, not the party. because i say that all the time but what i mean when i say it is that i am voting for what the politician's ideas are, i never thought about using that to mean that i was voting for the person him or her self based on their appearance. most of the time when i hear of people talking about that statement that is what they mean.
This post has 1 feedback awaiting moderation...
Leave a comment