"If you don't vote, you have no right to complain"

Non-Phish General
#1

With the election looming, what are everyone’s thoughts on that statement?

#2

I agree.

#3

i also believe if you dont vote then you dont have a voice in the matter.

but all in all the ones who protest and bitch dont ever vote so that they have something to be pissed off about.
its sorta like an oxymoeron(sorry had to get a moe fix in)

#4

I agree. I’m not voting however, given that I’m not American… but I’ll still bitch about whoever you do and don’t choose. That’s okay, right?

#5

i’d like to do away with states and instead of being called the united states of America we’d just be called America

then i’d like voting to become a 1:1 ratio, where each vote counted equally, lets see those politicians campaign in that environment

#6

makes sense in an ideal world

but you can always complain about lack of worthy things to vote for

#7

this is america. fuck yeah.

#8

thats what i came in here to say…more or less.

#9

wait… so if I’m not of age, or a non-voting citizen I can’t complain about who’s running my country?

seems a tad unfair, unless theres something I’m not getting here…

#10

I totally agree with the statement. The problem is that everyone complains no matter who is President. Yeah I know W’s approval rating is at an alltime low, but seriously we’d be bitching if Gore or Kerry were in office. The winner in November not only gets sworn in as the President of the United States, but also receives commentary from among others: Bill O’Reilly, Bill Maher, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, SNL, NBC, CBS, ABC, every comedian in the world, and even us on the ohkeepa.

#11

I’ve heard the argument that you can complain if you didn’t vote simply because you’re not the one who fucked up and voted the person into office that’s causing the problems. Or if you vote for the losing candidate I suppose thats kind of like not voting, since your candidate didn’t win.

#12

It’s the human way to complain about everything and anything, so it’s not just politics and leaders. It’s about anyone or anything thrown into the spotlight for mind consumption.

Look at us when it comes to Phish, the object of our admiration. Even at that, some of us bitch and moan about some show or performance, no matter how good or bad it seemingly is. We’re just squirrely organism reacting to everything in our environment in a myriad of different ways. I think it’s healthy that we can think what we want, and if everyone understands it as just that, then no one’s feelings should get hurt.

It’s when we react with negative actions, that the world truly becomes a frightening place. I’m having seriously paranoid feelings for Barack Obama as he pulls away from Hillary in these primaries. I believe racism and bigotry is infinitely less than it was when I was a kid, so we are progressing positively as a culture in that respect, but it’s not gone altogether by any means.

And so I fear for this guy’s life as he gets closer to the presidency because I believe there are definitely radical bigots left in this country who believe it’s not time for a black man to be president. I hope the hell it’s an unfounded feeling, but my paranoia and distrust of the whole Clinton machine wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t find just the right bigot for the job.

May Ralph forgive me for these terrible thoughts.

#13

i just had the same kinda thought last night…well i was thinking if/when obama got into office there’s gotta be some nutjob somewhere in this country who will feel it’s his responsibility to take him out…

i felt bad about having that thought too…

i was actually thinking what if i had the chance to interview him? i was thinking of all these questions i would want to ask him. and then eventually i figured i’d want to ask him whether he had thought about the extreme risk of getting assassinated. and whether he just didn’t think about it or thought that the ‘change’ he’s trying to make was more important than his own life.

#14

I half agree…in that if the guy you voted for loses, you have every right to complain, but if the guy you vote for wins, you have no more right to complain then the guy that didn’t vote, in fact I think you have way less right to complain.

#15

I don’t.

After all, the biggest complaint about elections is the LACK OF CHOICE! When i have two total idiots to choose from and I want neither and the third-party system is a collasal joke because the big-two constantly hold them down, then what else is there to do? Third parties are virtually non-existent and it’s a total waste to even bother voting for them and I can’t stand the big parties or their candidates most of the time.

Not to mention that government itself is so filled with corruption and lobbying that it doesn’t matter who you vote for. Even if you vote for someone with good intentions it becomes buried in a Congress that’s designed to not get anything done and to cator to big interests.

If we allow for more third parties, eliminate all forms of lobbying, reduce campaign spending, and force Senators to resign before they run for President (how much work you think they’re doing while on the campaign trail), and force Congressman to be at a LARGE majority of voting in Congress then nothing will change. Since none of those things will change, I have everything to complain about.

The government itself in its current form is designed to not work…voting has nothing to do with it. None of the founding fathers ever intended it to become this way but those parts of the Constitution have been largely ignored or changed. Go figure…

To be fair…I don’t really complain about individual politicians THAT much anyway…just government as a whole. That has nothing to do with voting. For the few I DID complain about (Dubya) I actually voted for Kerry even though I hated the guy just so it was someone OTHER than Dubya in the White House. Fat lot of good that did me, not to mention I felt dirty about it afterward. Great voting system we have here…

Stevo

#16

i hear ya fone. i was just saying Barak better get some nice, presidential looking kevlar suits because there are those out there who truly cannot stomach the notion of a black man running the country, and they may feel forced to act upon that.

then again, W has deeply, deeply angered a whole helluvalot of people and he’s still riding around on his bigwheel, so maybe there’s not as much to worry about as we seem to think. though i wouldn’t bet on it.