Stingray3906
3mo ago
What do you have in mind?
Stingray3906
3mo ago
I just don't see the need for doom if all you're looking for is a normie centrist. Your dreams aren't unachievable. Move to a suburb and start volunteering for local campaigns.
There aren't any normies centerist candidates in the suburb that I live in. And no one wants to vote for a normie centerist because the don't take polarized hard-line stances. No one appears to want to elect critical thinkers.
It's not so much that he's a Republican that would attract me to vote for him, but the fact that he (allegedly) is willing to engage in bipartisanship.
At this juncture, I would vote for any decent human being that isn't MAGA and isn't beholden to their party's interests. Maybe I'm asking for the moon, IDK. I'm just sick of all this shit. I'm 30 years old and there's elected people acting like out-of-control toddlers.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
Well, then in that case, I choose not to go to the ballot box at all.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
Voting for Biden is letting the Democratic Party know you are okay with them not raising the min wage to a living wage. It's letting them know you are okay with record military budgets while homelessness spiked 12% in one year and that you are OK with sending billions of dollars in US bombs and bullets to Israel to blow the heads and limbs off little children and babies while leveling 70% of Gaza. Sometimes in a democracy, the strongest word you can say is NO.
As if Republicans didn't balloon our military budget and get us into "endless wars" in the 00's. SMH
You don't have to choose between genocide and a felon.
You're right. I choose no one. The Internet hates this one simple trick.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
Here is an example of a candidate I would consider supporting. According to his bio, he seems to be running to genuinely represent his district and won't play partisan games. https://www.robert-smith.org/
Stingray3906
3mo ago
Well, that is an incredibly bleak outlook, but also sadly true, I feel.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
Yeah, I may do that instead of leaving it blank, especially since SSCReader says it would likely not be counted.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
I guess I'm looking for something that most people don't want: politicians who are authentic human beings. They all seem to be robots parroting whatever the most recently trending culture war issues are and then saying what they think the public wants. None of them give a shit insofar as what keeps them in office.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
The way our system works in practice is that our votes are only for causes.
Correct, and I feel that votes should be for the right candidate, instead.
Your view hinges on the idea that a blank ballot is more meaningful than a 0.0000001% influence on the country. But it’s not. No one will care about your blank ballot.
That's fine, that doesn't bother me.
It’s healthy to be disillusioned and not give a shit about the election, and that’s why it’s only every so often that you have to vote.
I would give a shit about the election if the major parties weren't so polarized and concerned with circlejerking and if minor party and unaffiliated voters had equal representation on the ballot. Thus, I disagree with your last sentence and instead suggest that you shouldn't vote for anyone.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
But why would you believe this? After all, it's those same democratic processes that gave us our current parties and politicians. Have you considered that maybe this is the inevitable outcome of the system and its incentives?
I have not considered that. However, just because the outcome is inevitable doesn't mean it shouldn't be changed.
What if modern democracy isn't actually compatible with having "decent human beings up for election"? Consider that perhaps the nature of American politics makes the current crop you find so distasteful unavoidable. That this unfortunate outcome is simply what American democracy is.
Well, yes, I agree that it isn't compatible. That's why I would hope that undervoting across the board might help communicate that we need to come back to basics -- mutual respect, recognizing the humanity of every individual, etc.
What if some better democracy, with better candidates, simply isn't achievable, and the only choice is between the current dysfunctional, partisan democracy that has you disillusioned; or abandoning democracy altogether?
Then perhaps democracy as a system of government should be retooled or abandoned.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
I'm wondering if you misunderstood. I'm saying, folks should go to their polling place, ask for a ballot and intentionally submit it blank. You still get marked down as having voted, and those ballots would conceivably get counted along with marked ballots under voter turnout stats, but it wouldn't be counted in the results.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
Yes lol. Thanks, I just edited it.
I am what you might call a disillusioned voter. Over the past year I have become passionately convinced that elected officials, in all levels of government, and irrespective of the major party they affiliate with, are not working with Americans' best interests in mind. They are more concerned with taking personal jabs at each other than they are working together to solve problems affecting us at the local, state and federal level. They only take into account the needs of the most vocal, influential, wealthy or powerful individuals. They only care about staying in office as long as possible, at any cost, instead of taking the time to listen and truly understand their constituents needs. They all regurgitate the same talking points, how the other party is evil and you can't trust them, instead of being bridge-builders and leaders. I could go on.
I've become so convicted in this, that I believe the best way to vote is to cast a completely black ballot.
Reasons:
-Your ballot is still counted, and will contribute to voter turnout statistics.
-You have the right to cast a vote for no one.
-You don't have to worry about picking the lesser of two evils, since you're not making a selection at all.
-Your vote for no one affirms that you believe democratic processes are important, and your lack of selection communicates dissatisfaction with the major parties. A sizable voter turnout with no candidates selected may cause them to change their platform to appeal to dissatisfied voters.
Arguments against this that I am not persuaded by:
"But that means the [party/candidate I oppose] will win." Yes, that will likely happen. No, it does not bother me, nor does it pursuade me. And that will be the case unless and until we are able to get more effective leaders on the ballot. It may very well take a darker period in our country's history to wake enough people up to the issues with the two-party system.
"But aren't there things that [major party] supports that you also support?" Yes, but I do not wish to involve myself in partisan politics, anymore. I believe that candidate selection should be based on their character, their ability to be charitable, kind, compassionate, driven, and most importantly, a leader who is willing to actively listen. I want nothing to do with the whole, "the other party is bad so you must vote for me" BS. I could care less about political parties at this point. Get more decent human beings up for election and then I'll consider voting for them.
"But you should vote to support [social issues]." I'm not voting to support a cause. I'm voting to find the most qualified candidate.
"It's anti-democratic not to pick a candidate." It's anti-democratic to not show up at the polls. It is completely democratic to cast a blank ballot. You're freely communicating that no candidates are fit to hold office.
"Then vote for an independent or minor party candidate." Independant candidates are not always on the ballot and with the stranglehold the major parties have on our election processes, minor parties will never gain a meaningful foothold in public offices. Ranked choice voting and citizen-funded elections would help, but no major party candidate would support it because it means the major parties would have less influence.
"But you need to vote this way or with this perspective, because reasons." No I don't. I have the right to cast my vote how I see fit, just as you do. I'm really not a fan of collective ideologies surrounding voting.
Other than the above, I am willing to hear any other arguments.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
Yeah, it's a difficult situation. Jones could quite literally stop making money all together, live off welfare, and the families would barely get any money from him. Or, Jones could continue making content or even get a day job and have his wages garnished and the families would still get very little money from him.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
I've always understood that the objective with these kinds of high value settlements, is that while you can't get water out of a stone, you can take a portion of what it drinks for yourself.
Alex Jones is going to be on some kind of a payment plan to the plaintiffs for the rest of his life, and in that way, it brings closure to the matter.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
No, I'm not against wokeness. I'm aware that my positions align with those of the DNC, but I'm not interested in supporting partisanship. I'm more interested in getting shit done, and I don't think that either party is willing to act with any sense of urgency towards the issues I mentioned. My perception is that they're far more concerned with keeping themselves in office by any means -- courting lobbyists, the wealthy, the influential, the elite, and then using demeaning and insulting rhetoric against their opponents.
Well, what do you care about in politics, more generally? What policies would you want? What should the country be doing?
In general, I care about
-Ensuring that the wealthy in this country pay their fair share in taxes -Ending our nation's contributions to the military industrial complex (I am a strict pacifist) -Immigration reform -Enshrining abortion rights in federal law -Universal healthcare -Gun control reform -Improving access to social services -Adding more options for public transportation -Promoting transparency in government -Increasing the supply of affordable housing -Implenting ranked choice voting for every level of public office
Is there any level of office where your vote would matter (like maybe local government)?
I used to think that it mattered up to at least my state government, but with how much politics have generally devolved into bickering about polar opposite positions on issues, and to ad-homs and name-calling, I've lost interest even there.
Let me put it this way; it would take a very large change in our political system and in our politicians' characters for me to be motivated to vote. And I know that people will tell me, "If you don't vote, the bad guys will win." Yes, probably, but if all of my choices are bought by the wealthy and special interest groups, or have such horrible values or ideologies, I am going to choose every time not to participate. Further, if the system at-large is only designed to be self-serving, why would I participate in it?
Stingray3906
3mo ago
Well, that's it. It's not correct, but I'm so strongly convicted in not voting that neither candidate appeals to me.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
Well, I didn't vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020, and the candidates I did vote for didn't receive any electoral votes, so I can't say that my vote contributed to said consequence.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
I'm considering casting a completely blank ballot on Election Day. I'm fed up with it all.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
This is an odd perspective I get a lot from boomers. They seem to care an awful lot about the decorum of politicians and their being harmonious and "statesmanlike". To me, the lack of heated argument between candidates suggests there's no significant difference between the two. That would make voting even more pointless.
Why do you think that it's odd? The way I see it, the character of a candidate is equally, if not more, important than their positions. If a candidate uses dehumanizing language to explain their positions, I'm most likely not voting for them even if I agree with their positons. I'm not suggesting that candidates need to agree, but I am most certainly of the opinion that they ought to respect one another's basic humanity.
If voting in this election is worthless, voting in every election in your life has been worthless. This time there is at least a black swan chance of a constitutional crisis or illegal political purge.
You're right, I agree. The first election I was able to vote in was 2012, when I didn't find our country's politics nearly as polarizing. 12 years later, I want nothing to do with politics.
Stingray3906
3mo ago
Why in the world, with the two major parties bickering back and forth at each other like immature children, would I want to vote in this upcoming election? I have to be honest, I'm completely dissolutioned from voting now with the way politicians talk to each other and disrespect each other and their opposing constituents. I just can't support a political system that caters to extreme ends of platforms, where civil discourse is completely thrown out the window, where activists and politicians alike no longer listen to understand but to respond, and that really only caters to corporate interests. I live in a solidly blue state in every level of office, so I feel like my vote (and my voice) don't matter.
Like, for the presidential election, who in their right mind would want to choose between two 80-something year old white men with the only difference being one is a convicted felon? And I know that's a huge generalization, but I can't be the only one who feels that way.
Stingray3906
4mo ago
I recently discovered that I am what many would call a "disheartened idealist". I am very much upset about the lack of kindness and charity in American politics, and I wish very much that I had the power to change it for the better, but I also know that no one would pay attention to my activism or would dismiss my attempts as distractions.
What would you all suggest that I do with these feelings, as an idealist or otherwise?
I will say this. The DNCs platform is closer to what my views tend to be, which I would describe as a bit of social democrat and a bit of libertarian. Not hard-in-the-paint, taxation is theft libertarian, but individual rights-supporting, freedom of the individual-supporting libertarian. From the social democrat side, I take support for universal healthcare, gun control reform, and higher taxes on the wealthy.
That having been said, I won't vote straight Democrat because I believe the DNC would not entertain some of my personal ideas -- for example, a complete overhaul of our election system, an independent nonpartisan commission for confirming federal judges and cabinet members, term limits on members of Congress and a Citizen's Assembly. I don't believe their career members or their donors would want anything that could threaten their ability to stay in power.
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