Happy Voting Day!

[green73]

Carroll Quigley on Voting:

“The National parties and their presidential candidates, with the Eastern Establishment assiduously fostering the process behind the scenes, moved closer together and nearly met in the center with almost identical candidates and platforms, although the process was concealed as much as possible, by the revival of obsolescent or meaningless war cries and slogans (often going back to the Civil War). … The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can “throw the rascals out” at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy. … Either party in office becomes in time corrupt, tired, unenterprising, and vigorless. Then it should be possible to replace it, every four years if necessary, by the other party, which will be none of these things but will still pursue, with new vigor, approximately the same basic policies. [Carroll Quigley, Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time (New York: Macmillan, 1966), pp. 1247-1248.]“

 

[green73]

The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting.
-Charles Bukowski

 

[CCTelander]

Voting is the most sacred ritual in all of the religion of statism. Participating in the ritual does nothing but strengthen the authoritarian stare and perpetuate evil. Liberty has never been secured or expanded, to any significant and lasting degree, through the act of voting, and it likely never will be. Until the "liberty movement" finally gives up the delusion that any significant, lasting improvement can be accomplished through the electoral process, it's unlikely that any real progress will be made.

 

[luctor-et-emergo]

How hard have you guys voted so far ? I can't stress it enough, vote harder!

 

[TheTexan]

How hard have you guys voted so far ? I can't stress it enough, vote harder!

Indeed. The outcome of the future of this country depends on it.

If this great and wonderful country someday in the future turns to shit because you didn't vote very hard, you really only have yourself to blame.

 

[CaptUSA]

Sadly, it looks like Ron Paul didn't actually cure anyone's apathy. He may have sent it into remission for awhile, but that's about the extent of it.



It is overcoming the sense of futility that separates heroes from bystanders.

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” - Thoreau

 

[Danke]

Sadly, it looks like Ron Paul didn't actually cure anyone's apathy. He may have sent it into remission for awhile, but that's about the extent of it.



It is overcoming the sense of futility that separates heroes from bystanders.

It should be mandatory.

 

[Lucille]

Vance linked to this one too yesterday.

Election 2014 – "Why I Opt Out of Voting"
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-03/election-2014-–-why-i-opt-out-voting

Note from Mike Krieger,

Before I get to the Dissident Dad’s latest post, I want to provide my own perspective with regard to this very important debate. While I agree that voting is generally meaningless in our current system, this is because the two choices we are given are 99% of the time captured cronies of the two corrupt political parties.

So this begs the question, can we ever get real choices on the ballot? I believe we can, but we need a much larger percentage of the population aware and engaged. While I completely respect the decision to not vote for either false choice (for example, in Colorado both choices for Governor are horrific), I hope people who make this choice don’t altogether give up on grassroots activism and civil disobedience, but rather direct their energy elsewhere.

This year, my wife and I will – for the second time in our adult lives – not vote. Previously, I would have seen this stance as many people do: as an irresponsible act. The ritual of voting is very much like taking communion in church for half of this country.

As a father, I want to raise responsible adults, which is why my wife and I will not be heading to the polls this election.

I want to always help my children understand that they are sovereign men and women, and have no obligation to any government.

When it comes to voting, my wife and I are personally opting out of the system. There are a lot of reasons for us not to vote, but at the core it comes down to not wanting to enforce our will on others. I’m fine with making our voices heard, but when the vote has a direct impact on how much money is stolen from another family, I want nothing to do with it.

Both Democrats and Republicans support militarism, taxation, spying on us, inflation, redistribution of wealth, Keynesian economics and corporatism once they get in office.

My children need not to identify with this group of sociopaths, so to vote would be a bad example for them. Plus, as my friend Doug Casey has noted, voting just encourages them – the politicians, that is. Whether you’re voting for or against someone, winning an election gives the politician a sense of a mandate that they are obligated to create new rules, taxes and redistribution of wealth schemes to satisfy their voting bloc. That somehow they are in the right, because no matter how sick their political philosophy is, the majority has demanded they implement it into the minority’s lives.

The current options for voting within the system has conditioned Americans into becoming busybodies. We’re always given the choice of taking away the rights of others, stealing their property through taxation, and creating new laws for minority groups. Or worse, outright murdering people overseas because they consider our tens of thousands of troops, drones and ships off their coastlines a threat to their own national sovereignty.

I believe that intentionally not voting will serve as a positive reinforcement for my kids that you don’t have to comply with society’s expectations and you never have to take part in the lesser of two evils. The lesser of two evils is still evil.

The oligarchs laugh at all us plebs on Election Day because they know that no matter what we do, they’re going get what they want. If you voted for Bush, you got Ben Bernanke as the master of your dollar’s value and chief of banker bailouts. If you voted for Obama, who was supposed to be the anti-Bush, guess what; you still got Ben Bernanke as master of your dollar’s value and chief of banker bailouts...

More at the link (including a John Oliver clip).

 

[amy31416]

Cool people get to walk around today with one of those "I Voted" stickers.

I'm super-cool, I got four of those stickers.

 

[mt4rp]

In lieu of voting I chose to receive my screwing in a more pleasurable manner, and going along with the political trend may just have to do it again.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

How hard have you guys voted so far ? I can't stress it enough, vote harder!

I rested well this morning. I filled out my ballot a few days ago. I'm going to vote so fucking hard that all the poll workers will feel it. (Over the next day or so I will be anxiously to see if any of my imaginary candidates are at least mentioned. Mr Giggles FTW! )

 

[Suzanimal]

Cool people get to walk around today with one of those "I Voted" stickers.

 

[Spikender]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Suzanimal again.

SMH'n at all of this. Was at the nearby Elementary school earlier today gettin' my vote on. Good thing I didn't pop a boner, that was some good voting right thar.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

People are good at voting. They can choose between two options with absolutely no knowledge whatsoever.

Seriously, the most impact an individual voter has is in local elections, but people have no clue as to who to vote for, and they are more than happy to make a choice!

Do you vote for School Board members? Do you know which candidates support or oppose Common Core? Do you know if any of them even care?

Do you vote for Judges? Do you know their records? Do you know if there are any controversies surrounding them?

Is there an important issue in your city? Do you know where City Council candidates stand on those issues?

The Voting Guide is usually no help. It is nothing more than a list of names and candidate statements which often avoid issues.

But voters are more than willing to check the boxes...

 

[TheTexan]

Do you vote for Judges? Do you know their records? Do you know if there are any controversies surrounding them?

The good candidates have a lot of signs in people's front yard. I like to drive through the rich neighborhoods before voting to get a sense of who's a good candidate. Rich neighborhoods usually have good amount of signs.

 

[Lucille]

Non-Voting Archive (pages and pages of articles)
Original article (Editor's pick)
http://www.strike-the-root.com/vote.html

"How does it become a man to behave toward this American government to-day? I answer that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it . . . . What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn."
--Henry David Thoreau

"The fate of the country...does not depend on what kind of paper you drop into the ballot-box once a year, but on what kind of man you drop from your chamber into the street every morning."
--Henry David Thoreau

 

[Carlybee]

Repubs must be voting hard today, judging by the amount of Dem butthurt I'm seeing on social media.

 

[CaptUSA]

...
--Henry David Thoreau[/QUOTE]

As long as we're doing Thoreau...
[QUOTE]“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or backgammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and wrong, with moral questions; and betting naturally accompanies it. The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that that right should prevail. I am willing to leave it to the majority. Its obli*gation, therefore, never exceeds that of expediency. Even voting for the right is doing nothing for it. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority.” [/QUOTE]
I rather like that sentiment. Does away with the "tacit consent" thing I keep hearing.

 

[TheTexan]

As long as we're doing Thoreau...

I rather like that sentiment. Does away with the "tacit consent" thing I keep hearing.

That was your takeaway from the quote? Huh. Interesting.

 

[CaptUSA]

That was your takeaway from the quote? Huh. Interesting.

Nah... Just pointing out that voting isn't necessarily a bad thing. I wouldn't hang my hat on it, but I wouldn't discourage anyone [ETA: who's knowledgeable about the issues] from the practice. I just don't like the idea that's been spreading here lately that if you cast a ballot, it means you consent to the whims of the majority. That's idiotic.