After this grueling election season, a lot of people are expressing surprise that so few of their fellow Americans chose to exercise their right to vote. (According to reports I have seen, voting was at a 20 year low in a presidential election, which is bad, even for the United States, which typically has a low turnout, anyway.) I have seen a lot of disparaging remarks about not voting, and I think they have missed the point. We also have a right not to vote, and it can be a choice of honor, a choice of exasperation, a choice of civil disobedience, a choice of protest.
Frustration with the status quo has been a running theme through every election since I was a teenager. But this year, at a level I have never seen before, a lot of people felt that neither candidate represented who they are, what they stand for, or how they choose to live their lives. I seriously considered not voting this time around, because neither candidate holds my values, but I have always believed if you are going to be mad about the outcome, you should vote first. So I held my nose and voted for a vile candidate that doesn't really represent me at all. And that does not tell you who I voted for, because each of them are deeply flawed in different ways, and I find them both abhorrent.
I mean, be honest. Do you really think either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton have a clue what your life is about, or how you feel, or what you believe? I have deeply religious friends and relatives who just voted for a serial adulterer who brags about sexually harassing women, who has gone bankrupt repeatedly, and who had his Twitter account taken away by his own staff because he has so little self-control. I also have friends and relatives who just voted for a woman who, although intellectually gifted and certainly world wise, appears not to have the understanding of your average kindergartner that nothing on the internet is private, who clearly thinks the rules are for others but not for her, and who cannot seem to differentiate between truth and falsehood to save her soul. Neither one of them appears to have the judgement required to hold the keys to the kitchen cabinet, to say nothing of the nuclear codes which could annihilate the entire world several times over.
Most people I know are like me - moderate in their ideas, and want to do the right thing, but also realize we need to be able to pay for it without bankrupting ourselves or the nation. I don't know anyone who is for partial birth abortion, nor do I know anyone who seriously thinks people should be dying for lack of health care. I don't think people should flood the border unchecked, but I appreciate the value of immigrants and immigration and want to find a way to accommodate those who choose to come here, work hard, and contribute to our country, culture and economy. I would like to see more jobs that actually sustain people, and I believe Henry Ford had the right idea about paying people enough to be able to afford their own products. (In other words, it's not just about the sheer number of jobs available, it's also about the quality of the jobs being created.) I want our elderly and veterans to be cared for appropriately and with dignity. I want babies to have food, even if their parents have made poor life choices. I want children to have access to top quality education regardless of where they live, because an educated population will better serve us all as a country. I want affordable day care, so young mothers can continue to work if they want or need to, and a clean environment to leave to my grandchildren. Doesn't everyone? I am just optimistic enough to believe they do.
Choosing not to vote is really a statement on the failure of the system to provide candidates that excite and inspire us, candidates that we can relate to, and who resonate with us. Perhaps that is the deeper message that both parties need to heed. I hate politics and rarely comment on it, but if people miss this obvious, simple message, then nothing will ever change. No candidate won a majority of votes, because the majority chose not to vote at all. We still have no idea what the will of the people is, because most of them haven't even bothered to speak.
People are protesting, but I personally think their protest is less about Donald Trump, the person, than it is frustration over the lack of realistic solutions to our every day problems coming out of Washington, and the unwillingness of the political machines to listen to those of us living life in Real America. Every eight years we have a shuffle between lobbying organizations and the White House, with the same people coming and going, still out of touch with regular Americans like me. I feel like I'm watching a giant game of Mr. Potato Head. We have changed the features around a little bit, but the underlying entity is still the same. I don't trust any of them, and I am not alone. Career politicians are loyal not to the voters, but to themselves. I believe that is the root of the problem, and unless you yank out the root, the problem remains.
So next time around, I have decided I won't vote unless there is a candidate on the ballet who truly represents me and my values. I won't vote unless they show me a plan that addresses our very real problems, and gives me a road map as to how they will make it work. I won't vote unless I respect them and the people with whom they have surrounded themselves. I won't vote to continue the politics of negativity, which only serve to further divide an already weary electorate. I won't vote unless I am satisfied that the person I voted for is simply the best person for the job at that time, and nothing less will do.
From now on, if you want my vote, you will have to earn it, deserve it, and make me believe that you will be representing me. It's that simple. I believe we, as Americans, as humans, deserve better than this. If we all demand better, perhaps we will finally be heard.
