Thursday, November 09, 2006
Last Tuesday was Election Day, and for the first time in my life, I didn't vote. My impressive seven-year streak is broken now and I didn’t lose a night’s sleep over it.
Since I’m now part of the ignorant majority who doesn’t vote, you’re all entitled to immediately disregard my opinion when I complain about how badly things are going in Washington and elsewhere. After all, if I’m too lazy to drive three blocks to the local elementary school and cast my ballot, then is my vote worth anything to begin with? I have a good excuse, though. The Biggest Loser was on, and instead of being an active participant in democracy, I sat and watched to see if Bob could drop five more pounds this week and avoid elimination. Prime-time TV is so riveting these days, I’m surprised anyone leaves home at all.
But it feels good to be a non-voter. Now I know how all the minorities, anarchists, white trash, Klan members, women, Jehovah’s Witnesses, 18-year-olds, and other representatives of the non-voting populace feel. I’m part of the majority now. I’m part of the solution.
Now that I’m a proud non-voter, I have to wonder why I ever bothered with it in the first place. When I was a teenager, I would cast my vote simply to get one of those “I Voted” stickers with the little check mark on them. You weren’t cool unless you had one of those on your shirt. I also enjoyed going back to my old elementary school auditorium. I’d try to go vote around lunchtime, so I could see (and smell) what kind of cafeteria food the kids were eating these days. I’d also check the Hope of America plaque at the school’s entrance to find my name (I won the award in 1992). My parents also put pressure on me to vote, and it was easier to go do it than to try to think up a good excuse or a good lie.
Now that I’m a little older and a little wiser, I realize just how worthless my vote is. If I hadn’t voted for the past seven years, would anything be different? No, other than the fact that I would have saved a few hours which I could have wasted doing something more enjoyable. My vote is worthless, my time isn’t. And quality television shows like The Biggest Loser deserve more of it.
Since I’m now part of the ignorant majority who doesn’t vote, you’re all entitled to immediately disregard my opinion when I complain about how badly things are going in Washington and elsewhere. After all, if I’m too lazy to drive three blocks to the local elementary school and cast my ballot, then is my vote worth anything to begin with? I have a good excuse, though. The Biggest Loser was on, and instead of being an active participant in democracy, I sat and watched to see if Bob could drop five more pounds this week and avoid elimination. Prime-time TV is so riveting these days, I’m surprised anyone leaves home at all.
But it feels good to be a non-voter. Now I know how all the minorities, anarchists, white trash, Klan members, women, Jehovah’s Witnesses, 18-year-olds, and other representatives of the non-voting populace feel. I’m part of the majority now. I’m part of the solution.
Now that I’m a proud non-voter, I have to wonder why I ever bothered with it in the first place. When I was a teenager, I would cast my vote simply to get one of those “I Voted” stickers with the little check mark on them. You weren’t cool unless you had one of those on your shirt. I also enjoyed going back to my old elementary school auditorium. I’d try to go vote around lunchtime, so I could see (and smell) what kind of cafeteria food the kids were eating these days. I’d also check the Hope of America plaque at the school’s entrance to find my name (I won the award in 1992). My parents also put pressure on me to vote, and it was easier to go do it than to try to think up a good excuse or a good lie.
Now that I’m a little older and a little wiser, I realize just how worthless my vote is. If I hadn’t voted for the past seven years, would anything be different? No, other than the fact that I would have saved a few hours which I could have wasted doing something more enjoyable. My vote is worthless, my time isn’t. And quality television shows like The Biggest Loser deserve more of it.
