The joy of refusing to vote

"If Americans had any sense, no one would vote in the November election." From a 10/13/2012 article by former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Dr. Paul Craig Roberts.

Just gotta say: Refusing to participate in America's electoral system has been one of the most liberating experiences of my life. What a joy it is to be rid of Democrats, Republicans, and those would-be contenders running as Independents or - worse yet - clamoring for the "write-in" victory. Uncle Sam and the corporate thugs who call the shots in this country don't care who you vote for. Repukes and Demagogues are their puppets. Other candidates don't stand a chance. The objective is to sucker people into conforming. Get 'em to wear a red, white, and blue "I Voted" button on Election Day.

If you ever have time, read Anthony Downs' "An Economic Theory of Democracy." Ah, that beautiful touch of sarcasm in the title. Politicians don't worry about goodness or badness. They try to maximize their votes. Period. Its the only political behavior that's rational 'cause they gotta get votes to be in office. But maximizing votes takes money. And money is monopolized by about one percent of the population. Champagne sippin' bigwigs. Folks entrenched in perverse corporations that profit from stuff like American imperialism and taxpayer-financed bailouts for big banks. Crystal glasses tipped in a toast to "rich man's war - poor man's fight." Ever notice how the Repukes and the Demagogues always get together when it comes to that sort of thing? Shhh...

Grateful Dead legend Bob Weir put on a frantic effort to get folks to vote. Wonderful soundtrack. Misguided cause. I love it when people point out the role money plays in politics while simultaneously claiming they've found a candidate who'll beat the system. Win without corporate backing. Change the world. Save the planet. Happens every election. One of the best parts of the show. Twitter offered real-time feedback to Bob's effort, and I tweeted a link to my post titled "Why I don't vote."

Let's face it. America's military-industrial complex is in control. Power that ain't gonna be handed over at a ballot box. Look no further than recent legislation (NDAA) giving ol' Uncle Sam the right to incarcerate U.S. citizens for as long as he so desires without even filing charges. Wanna send a message to the warmongering thugs that run this country? Simple. Refuse to vote. Let 'em know you've caught on their two-headed one party sham.

I'm reminded of the notion that in times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. Whatever. Come Election Day, at least I'll save the gas money it would cost to get to the polls and back.

Update 3/9/2017 - Ron Paul has it right: Voting is just a means of pacifying the public, the Deep State calls the shots.

Update 11/10/2016 - Real hoot watching the Electoral College make a mockery of this year's presidential election. Kinda fun watching an outsider "win," but no candidates were worth my time, and the one with the most votes wasn't elected anyway. It was also nice to see Big Brother's mainstream media exposed as a tool of the 1%. Talk about the absence of a free press...

Update 11/13/2014 - Hooray for the LOWEST national turnout in 72 years for mid-term elections. Newsday's article offers an apt summation from the field of Political Science: "It's moving away from a worry to a crisis," said Gerald Benjamin, distinguished professor of political science at SUNY New Paltz. "We are not talking about a natural ebb and flow. We are talking about a deep dip. . . . This could be a harbinger of a fundamental shift that we need to think very hard about." Maybe - just maybe - folks are indeed waking up to the government's voting scam. 

Update 11/7/2014 - I'm delighted that South Carolina's voter turnout for mid-term elections is the lowest in four decades. Hopefully, folks are wising-up to the government's voting scam.