Political Options

As John Quincy Adams said, "Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." Be advised, this was uttered before 200+ years of corruption within our system had its effect.

There are not only two options, i.e. Republican or Democrat (the political reality, irrespective of the seeming third party option). There is a third. Not voting is also a principled stand.

Today's politicians speak pejoratively regarding the lack of voter turn out, assuming irresponsibility on the part of those who do not turn out. Might it not be a reasonable deduction to suspect dissatisfaction and disillusionment on the part of the non-participants, having realized the system is now rigged?

We were once and for a very few brief years, a Democratic Republic. We are now worse than a Radical Democracy where at least the vote counted. We are now, if you will excuse my label, a political dictatorship. First off, our votes are now generally electronic, with the electronics under the control of the politicos. Then, if our votes seem to contradict what the politicos have in mind, our courts declare our vote "out of bounds".

A very sorry state, to be sure.

Personally, I doubt the populace will wake-up/rise-up until voter turnout is in the area of 10-20%. I, for one, have not participated in the national charade for some time now. In my mind, the only vote which seems to count is on the local level, i.e. township or county.

In this day and age your vote, especially on the national level, is always lost.