Published on 12, July, 2020
I use to be a brittish conservative just so the yanks on here don't get confused but now I don't vote at all. I'm not even sure politics makes sense to me and see it more as a modern day religion or cult. When you watch people debate in parliament you have to question why do we allow these people to run the country at times. But voting genuinely seems pointless and doesn't seem to mean anything to me personally. Just find it odd how people get so wrild up about or defensive about if politics is like there life or something it's kind of sad really cause SDK yourself what do the government do for you besides raise taxes and make life more difuclt. By that I mean they claim to give us a pay rise then the next year they increase taxes which completely defetes the objective of a pay raise as even if your pay does increase by a small amount if taxes rise then your money still doesn't go far due to tax inflation canceling it out. It's as if they take us for fools.
The trouble with voter apathy is it tends to give the green light to political parties to do what they want, knowing that it won't affect them so much at the next election as there are a few groups they can always rely on.
The current system is also very flawed and not fit for purpose. Much like in America, the elections are often decided by a minority of people in marginal constituencies and loads don't go out to vote since they live in 'safe' seats and it's unlikely to make a difference. That said, our PM's behavior may have changed a few minds recently.
I think it's a bit of a shame that people don't exercise this important democratic right (though I do understand why people feel it's devalued) and then complain about the government that they get
I agree. As far as I'm concerned if you don't vote you forfeit the right to complain about the government and the country. I have also noticed a very strong positive correlation between the non-voters and the me-ism of 'what do I get', emphasis on I. What's that famous JFK quote... ;)
Sorry, but I disagree. In 40 years of being eligible to vote I've never bothered once in either local or general elections. I can still complain about the government if I choose to because I didn't vote for any of them, winners or losers.
A canvasser came to my door once and asked me if they could count on me voting Labour so I told him no. He then asked if that was because I was voting Conservative, and once again my answer was no. Next he tried Lib Dem, answer no. At this point I decided to tell him that I had never voted for anyone before and wasn't about to start doing so. When he asked me why, I answered him with a question of my own - If Tesco had 5kg bags of dog poo, cat poo, and rat poo on special offer which one would you buy? He replied that he wouldn't buy any of them as none of them have any real value or function. I told him that he had perfectly summed up my feelings for politicians, and closed the front door in his face.
By agendas I meant self-fulfilling in the case of politicians. For most of them it's a power trip. Then there's that old saying - You can tell when a politician's lying; their lips are moving. True most of the time. I just can't summon the drive needed to make the effort to vote for any of them. When my polling card comes through the door it goes straight in the bin. I know some people will find that abhorrent but so are some of the reasons people select their candidate to me. Whoever gets into government, nothing really changes anyway.
Oh yeah, I'm not endorsing our system in any way. It's broken deliberately and unfortunately no one in power has an interest in fixing it. And I'm certainly not saying any politician has no personal agenda (I'm not sure you'd even want someone with no principles who would just go whichever way the wind is blowing right now).
But some of them have agendas that will line up at least slightly closer to what's important to you. It's hard to give specific examples because I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to ram my beliefs down your throat. But while neither of the two largest parties are my ideal, there's one I find horrifying on every level and one I'm not a fan of but I believe they're the best of two lousy options right now.
I agree, ride or die..
Hmmm, not sure about that TriS. I get what you're saying but I've never seen a politician without a personal agenda. It goes with the territory. I could never bring myself to commit to something because it was the least bad option. Surely it's down to politicians to enthuse us, and offer what's best for the majority, not offer endless compromises? Then again, every voter has their own agenda too which makes it hard to please everyone. Finding that middle ground and not favouring any particular section of society should be their goal.
No problem. Just be prepared for an odd look from the canvasser.
I'm with you that you can still complain even if you don't vote, but there's always a least worst option. Genuinely good politicians who should be in power in an ideal world are incredibly rare, but there are some who are not great and some who are horrific.
If you're offered those three bags of mess and rat poo has a high risk of having the plague, you have the choice to try to avoid the rat stuff.
You mind if I borrow that one..?