Bad Arguments For/About Voting

Because it's Election Day, I would like to respond to a few bad arguments about voting.

Bad Argument #1: "I may not agree with who you choose to vote for, but you should just vote, no matter what."

Response: You should definitely not vote in any election for which you are too ill-informed to vote. If your vote equates to a coin toss, then it is not important at all if you vote, in fact it's better if you leave the vote to people who are actually informed about the issue. You should not make your voice heard if you essentially have no voice or if your voice is so ill-informed that it could sway an otherwise valid election.

Bad Argument #2: "I would vote for a third party, but they have no chance of winning."

Response: Suppose your family votes on what to have for dinner; Choice 1 is something you love, but everyone else hates; Choice 2 is something you hate, but everyone else loves; Choice 3 is something everyone hates. How should you vote? Should you choose something you definitely love, even though you'll "lose the vote," or should you vote for something you definitely hate, just so that you can "win the vote?" It makes no sense to vote for Choice 2 in this case. You'll end up with something you hate, and the only thing you would have gained is the feel-good moment of having cast your vote for the option that ultimately won, even though you didn't want it to. Choice 1 is not a "wasted vote," it's an honest vote. Choice 2 is a wasted vote for sure: You definitely vote for something you don't want, and you gain nothing for doing so. "But at least I didn't end up with Choice 3!" Hmm.

Bad Argument #3: "If you don't vote, you have no right to complain."

Response: The exercise of your right to free speech is not contingent on the exercise of your responsibility to vote. Whether you vote or not, you can always complain. But notice: Those who cast a vote bear the responsibility of the electoral outcome. If successful politicians end up doing things the voters didn't want, they have no right to complain; after all, they voted, and thus must either bear the responsibility of having voted for the politician, or "accept the outcome of the election."

Bad Argument #4: "You must vote for the lesser of two evils."

Response: Suppose I offer you the choice of punching either your son or your daughter; but you also have the choice to abstain, in which case I will make my own choice and punch accordingly. Should you vote and bear responsibility for which one gets punched? Or, should you abstain and force me to bear the full brunt of the moral culpability? I'd say the latter, wouldn't you?

Bad Argument #5: "You can't love someone and vote their rights away."

Response: Yeah, we've all seen that video. Guess what, though: politicians from every party want to take away your rights. Some of them want to take away your reproductive rights; some want to take away your private property rights; some want to take away your gun rights; some want to take away your contract rights; some want to restrict your speech; some want to take away your due process rights; etc. Everyone you plan on voting for in this election and all other elections will ultimately take away some of your rights unless and until you vote libertarian, which most of you won't. So chances are good that you A) Think you love me, and B) Plan on voting some of my rights away. You are either a hypocrite, or your argument isn't valid after all. I'm going with the latter, because I have smart friends and family who aren't often hypocrites.

Bad Argument #6: "Voting might not be perfect, but it's the only way to make your voice heard."

Response: No, there are so many other ways to make your voice heard. And you don't have to wait for a special every-two-years event to make your voice heard. Figure out some other ways to make your voice heard, and do them. True whether your choose to vote, or not.

Bad Argument #7: "Local elections matter a lot more than national elections."

Response: Many of the local elections on my ballot this morning had only one candidate, so there was no real choice there. Those elections essentially didn't matter at all.

Bad Argument #8: "Oh well, at least [bad candidate] didn't win!"

Response: But take a look at who actually did.

Okay, that's all I've got for you for a little while. I hope you voted or not voted according to your conscience and that you can live with your choice! I also hope your ethical system allows enough grace and humility for you to forgive your friends, relatives, and neighbors who made different electoral choices than you. Elections come once every couple of years, but our social and familial bonds are with us every day. Pour your energy into the ones you love - no politician can take that away from you unless you allow them access to your soul.