Voting is the minimum. If voting isn't enough (I didn't think it is) then do more. Go knock on doors for the candidate that you like. There are a million ways to participate in democracy. The answer to a flawed system isn't to do less.
These "both choices bad. Better to not vote" people really don't make any kind of sense to me.
Image being unhealthy and saying "it's going to take more than a 20 minute walk once a week to get in shape. Better not even do that then cuz what would be the point?"
If voting isn't enough (I didn't think it is) then do more. Go knock on doors for the candidate that you like. There are a million ways to participate in democracy.
Love to door knock for Heinrich Himmler.
These "both choices bad. Better to not vote" people really don't make any kind of sense to me.
Hey, listen. I vote every year. This year, 90% of my ballot is going to be blank, because so many of the candidates are absolutely abhorrent. But when I am presented with the Himmler / Hitler choice, I will be firmly bubbling in (C) None of the Above. I might even knock a few doors and tell my neighbors about how great (C) None of the Above would be. If I could figure out where to send my money, I could even see myself donating.
Image being unhealthy and saying "it's going to take more than a 20 minute walk once a week to get in shape. Better not even do that then cuz what would be the point?"
Its funny, because I'm picturing you trying to recover from a broken leg with that mentality.
Elections in bourgeois democracy are nothing but political theatre, because ultimately capitalists stand above and control the political system to suit their interests. There is no don't commit genocide, bomb countries, or exploit the global south option in any imperial core country, and if there is, they don't last for long because of the hundreds of impediments to democracy (which the greeks properly saw as rule by the poor, not this sham popularity)
The ancient greeks knew this, and considered representative/election-based governments as nothing but sham popularity contests that serve the oligarchy. Aristotle even defined democracy as "rule by the poor", and wouldn't consider our liberal "democracies" as being democratic at all.
Communists have known this since the 1800s, but even modern liberal studies like the princeton one show, that voting has no effect on policy, and only dollar / wealthy interest groups matter.
"you can vote your conscience next election, this one is too important" -every election cycle.
The secret, of course, is that you can't just change nothing but your vote and expect things to change. The candidates aren't the problem, they're the symptom.
