Do You Vote?

[Moemers]

For the people here who live in countries in which they can vote (I'm assuming everybody...)

Do you?

Why or why not?

[Beth]

I do, there's a lot of women that went to jail and did a lot of hard work so I could vote. I vote to honor them.

[Enlightenment101]

Yes I vote, not that it matter lol but I vote

[sjkted]

I don't vote and never have.

I consider myself to be sovereign and don't need any "help" from the government. By sovereign, I mean that I take full responsibility for myself and my take is that we would all be better off if the government people trying to help us would just go away.

On a philosophical level, I see that voting is giving one's power away to another group. When that other group fails to deliver on their promises (as they always do), most people resort to complaining and engaging in the political process (spinning their wheels) to rectify the situation. Further, I can't think of anything that was voted on that produced a good result. Look at all of the bills that come in from DC. Since I'm not a minority group or disabled or belong to one of the classes that would receive money, I can't see that any of them have benefited me. And even if I was benefiting from it, I would much rather be self-reliant.

Much of the "voting" going on that I see has to do with redistribution of wealth. My take on that is that if the government has so much wealth to distribute, the Corporation of the United States should just lower taxes, kind of like how other corporations that have so much money issue dividends.

Beyond that, I realize there are some real issues -- although they are few and far between. On those, we're back to the one-headed two-party system controlled by the same crooks in power. Add to that the very easily manipulatable electronic voting machines which do not offer a paper trail or any real way to reconcile all of the votes, and I don't see myself changing my mind anytime soon.

--sjkted

[tron]

no.
I prefer wasting my time throwing rocks into a pond.
It seems much more productive then "votes" and there's no paper/power being used.

[BMJ]

Hi Guys,
Here in Australia if you are 18 years or over you have to vote, (and if you don't you will be fined), we just held our federal election yesterday. I haven't even bothered to check who's won.

There is no why not.

Previously I was very interested in making my vote count, but frankly now, after becoming more aware of what is going on and the influence of the tptb, I really don't care a bit to vote anymore because it really doesn't make a difference.

I'm waiting for the changes that are to come and hoping for a better tomorrow, whilst I try to make the best of today in every way.

[Blacklight43]

Hi!
I always vote....against the establishment!...via absentee ballot...(paper trail).
One small vioce.

[Wood]

I voted just once when I was 18. Since then I realised it was not worth the trouble: all sides with any option to win were just the same.
I feel things are starting to change though.

[Arpheus]

Before i moved to the USA,i was born in brazil for those of you who dont know,i was all excited when i turned 16 so i could make a difference and vote for the first time yeah people can vote at 16 in brazil believe it or not but they cant drive a car until they are 18 go figure lol,anyway i voted at 16 having this misunderstanding that would make a difference and all,but i was young back then full of ideas and misconceptions,well ever since i havent bothered,it feels better this way.

[Lost Soul]

Registered third party (New Year's Party) for over two decades now. I do vote and have missed only three elections. Generally I vote no on new taxes and no on incumbents. Any politician in office stole enough money the first time.

[FrankoL]

I dont vote anymore. It makes no sense. I think everything is corrupted.

[Teakai]

I usually do, but not this time.
I was going to vote for the Australian Sovereign Party - they're against the 'nwo' - unfortunately they didn't have enough numbers to register this time.

So, I considered my voice was loudest in not voting in this election.

This is a Chinese depiction of the election.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=RQ_s6V1Kv6A

[sojorner]

I De-Registered myself from the voters list.

Being on the voters list (regardless of whether or not you vote) is giving your consent to be governed by a parliament that claims to be sovereign over those it represents. It is a foreign power and a CONTRACT we enter into voluntarily (by ignorance).

We are put on the voters list, and by our acquiesence,(not disputing or challenging the fact), we AGREE to be governed by whoever wins and the Governing body (Corporate body, Alien body, etc) they represent.

I'm not just a Sovereign...
I'm a paranoid Sovereign..

Soj

[Tigger]

We all have to vote in Australia (if you are over 18 that is). Recently we had a federal election in which it appears to have resulted in a hung parliament. This means that no political party has secured a majority of seats yet in the lower house (House of Representatives) which will enable it to form a majority government. Some 'marginal seats' are so close that they will be decided on just a handful of votes. If you live in an electorate that is a 'marginal seat' it makes sense to vote properly because as we have seen in this election, even a few votes can decide which party will form the next government.

Having said all that, both of the major political parties tailor their platforms so close together during an election campaign in order to attract the swinging voters that it becomes very hard to differentiate between the two. It is easy for voters to become disillusioned and apathetic which is why many people cast 'informal' votes (i.e. blank ballot paper). In this election there was up to a 10% 'informal' vote in some electorates which could be an indication that many Australians are becoming more than a little tired of the political game.

It will be very interesting to see what happens in the next few days as parties make 'deals' with each other to decide who can form a minority government.

[Beth]

I'm sorry all, but don't you see this as part of the agenda? To make us all so friggen apathetic? "My vote doesn't matter, as well as my voice, so I might as well stop!"

When we decide our voice means nothing, that's exactly what it becomes, nothing.

So few vote now and that's why political races are decided by the few and the powerful. If we all decided to jump in and vote 3rd parties, we'd really shake it all up.

Call me naive, but if I'm gonna be a part of this planet, I'm going to be a part of the process, and feel that at least to me, my voice counts.

[Moemers]

What third parties though?

[Tigger]

Posted by yaya551 (here)
I'm sorry all, but don't you see this as part of the agenda? To make us all so friggen apathetic? "My vote doesn't matter, as well as my voice, so I might as well stop!"

I could not agree with you more yaya551. I should have said in my earlier post that I was a little disturbed by the high number of informal / apathetic votes cast in our recent federal election. I for one DID vote and made sure that my voice was heard. In my opinion, even though I can understand why people have become so apathetic, nothing is more dangerous to a society than an apathetic population. I could go further to speculate that if fewer people gave into their apathy last Saturday (Election Day) we might have a very different result for OZ's political future right now.

Incidentally our caretaker Prime Minister (Julia Gillard) announced yesterday that if she were to form the next government, she would look into making changes to the constitution to prevent this situation from reoccurring. I don't know quite what she meant by that, but all sorts of red flags and alarm bells went off in my head when I heard her say this. Problem-Reaction-Solution anyone?

[Beth]

Posted by Moemers (here)
What third parties though?

Is that really the point? They take our rights, then they take our voice. My point was they are making us so apathetic, that we basically hand the system right back to them and say it doesn't matter. Hell, might as well make the next president a king or queen. Doesn't matter right? We shouldn't be bothered with this voting thing.

My problem with this truth movement sometimes is the blame game. We want someone else (in power) to fix the friggen problem. Well if we don't change, nothing changes. So if we become complacent and apathetic, then what we get is what is coming to us, and it's usually not something we like.

So my challenge is for us all to change and not sit on our asses and wait for it. Be a part of the process or you will be left out of it.

[frank samuel]

For many years I have been a avid political activist on both side of the fence on the US, democrats and republicans. I don't have any party affiliations . After voting for candidates whom I thought where going to make a substantial difference both in the US and around the world I've finally open my eyes and saw politics for what it really is, a business corporation whose main objective is profit at the sake of human rights and dignity to have the basic needs each single person on the face of this Earth deserves.

There's no heart , no soul in politics, why ? I wish it was not so. I am now a community activist for there I feel we can all make our mark, people taking care of each other irregardless of the going ons of governments and corrupt politicians. Voting is a dam if you do dam if you don't process. Politics God knows I wasted enough of my life engaging in this fruitless endeavor of political games.

I am for an all volunteer care taker group, instead of jury duty call it government duty where every citizen participates in their well being. No political parties, no voting. Four years then move on let someone else volunteer. Lobbyist are not allowed, special interest groups not allowed. Anyone can do a better job than these jokers. How much money is wasted in campaigns, for what. Political figures spend more time campaigning to stay in office than they do doing their job.

With that said there's always the exception to the rule, there's a few and far in between politicians who have demonstrated a heart of compassion and have use their position to help other human beings, to those people I raise my voice and say thank you. Politics is a dirty business yet amidst the corruption you can find a few gems untainted by it all. To them I raise my hat in thankfulness . Still we need to do away with the political institutions and become community activist instead. Maybe the generations to come will make that bold move, I sincerely hope so.

Many many blessings to all.

[jaybee]

Posted by yaya551 (here)
I'm sorry all, but don't you see this as part of the agenda? To make us all so friggen apathetic? "My vote doesn't matter, as well as my voice, so I might as well stop!"

When we decide our voice means nothing, that's exactly what it becomes, nothing.

So few vote now and that's why political races are decided by the few and the powerful. If we all decided to jump in and vote 3rd parties, we'd really shake it all up.

Call me naive, but if I'm gonna be a part of this planet, I'm going to be a part of the process, and feel that at least to me, my voice counts.

Well said yaya551...!!!!


(re Britain)

It is very telling that it was the poorer men..... and women who were the last to get equal
voting rights.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffrage

Reform Act 1832 - extended voting rights to adult males who rented propertied land of a certain value, so allowing 1 in 7 males in the UK voting rights
Reform Act 1867 - enfranchised all male householders, so increasing male suffrage to the United Kingdom
Representation of the People Act 1884 - amended the Reform Act of 1867 so that it would apply equally to the countryside; this brought the voting population to 5,500,000, although 40% of males were still disenfranchised, whilst women could not vote
Between 1885-1918 moves were made by the suffragette movement to ensure votes for women. However, the duration of the First World War stopped this reform movement. See also The Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885-1918.
Representation of the People Act 1918 - the consequences of World War I persuaded the government to expand the right to vote, not only for the many men who fought in the war who were disenfranchised, but also for the women who helped in the factories and elsewhere as part of the war effort. Property restrictions for voting were lifted for men, who could vote at 21; however women's votes were given with these property restrictions, and were limited to those over 30 years old. This raised the electorate from 7.7 million to 21.4 million with women making up 40% of the electorate. Seven percent of the electorate had more than one vote. The first election with this system was the United Kingdom general election, 1918
Representation of the People Act 1928 - this made women's voting rights equal with men, with voting possible at 21 with no property restrictions
Representation of the People Act 1948 - the act was passed to prevent plural voting
Representation of the People Act 1969 - extension of suffrage to those 18 and older

In Britain it was only 82 years ago that every adult was allowed to vote....and this
fundamental right was struggled/fought for...not handed on a plate!

Representative democracy isn't easy...but it's the best we've got at the moment.