Voting is like recycling.
Warning- this is a bit of a ramble…
Yesterday I got a call from our local Democratic Party’s office asking me to vote for a couple of guys to become supreme court justices. This is basically how it went down:
Her: I urge you to vote for ___ and ___ for Supreme Court Justice.
Me: Okay, why?
Her: Um. Well, because they support our positions on things. (note- I’m not a registered Democrat, but I generally vote that way)
Me: Okay, but what specifically?
Her: … Okay, thank you!
Me: Wait, seriously?
Her: *click*
And that, my friends, is a big reason why I have trouble giving a shit lately. I mean, I know that she was likely just a volunteer, but if these people are going to call people at home to urge them to vote for someone, for this actual JOB that is supposed to improve/affect our lives, shouldn’t they be able to tell me why? Okay, so I’ll go do the research, but I’ll likely have to sift through a ton of propaganda… Plus, this is a totally broken system. I think this is a system that feeds corporate interests, and it even trickles down to the local level. I think that the few issues that are for public health/interest are so few and far between in light of the massive destruction that is taking over the planet… well it just makes it all look a bit silly in that light. So yes, I want to legalize gay marriage and have backyard chickens and have a better public transportation system… but I’d also like them to stop killing the planet. Maybe they can do that? No? Okay, I guess I’ll choose backyard chickens. But wait? You really won’t stop killing the planet? Well… but my backyard chickens won’t have a backyard if you do that. Oh, those are my choices? "Backyard chickens + dead planet" or "just dead planet"? Hmmm. Now that I see it, I can’t go back. False choices, all the time.
So here’s my analogy, I guess, and feel free to weigh in and tell me what you think. Voting is like recycling. By all means, recycling is important. All that crap that could end up in the landfill? Let’s save some of it and turn it into useful goods. Recycle. BUT, I worry about recycling. I worry that recycling, while a better option than locking all that stuff up in a plastic bag to help build yet another rotting methane breathing trash mountain, is presenting us with yet another false choice. Let’s take, for example, toilet paper, paper towels, tissue, etc. Paper is definitely recyclable, and buying recycled toilet paper will reduce the number of trees that are cut down. It’s pretty amazing actually, like half a million trees could be saved per year if every US household just replaced one roll of TP with a recycled brand. Nice, right? Think of how many trees we could save if we all switched exclusively to recycled paper products? We’re saving the planet! But it’s not that simple. In order to recycle paper we often have to process it with chlorine (and likely other chemical products, and if it is chlorine-free I can bet you that it’s been met with chemicals in the past), and we end up with dioxin as a result. Dioxin- one of the most toxic chemicals known to man, is a byproduct of this process (and so many others). What’s the problem with a little dioxin? To name one, it lodges itself in women’s breastmilk, affecting our babies, all of us, for life. So okay, my choices are- "new toilet paper + cancer" or "saved trees and recycled toilet paper + cancer". Okay, OR, we could stop using toilet paper, and all switch to cloth. That’s gross? So is cancer. I’m pretty sure cancer is way grosser. There are all these choices, and yet, we are only shown a couple, and then we are pacified into doing just what is presented, rather than what will really make the difference. And when you make that choice, you start to realize how ridiculous the other ones were, and how many false premises we’ve accepted. Like, the saved trees. They weren’t saved. They were just not decimated yet. How silly that we pretend that we’re doing the environment a service when we choose merely to abstain from murdering it. No, if we were going to save some trees, then we’d stop them from being cut in the first place. And so this is just one of the examples knocking around in this head of mine about all the false choices we’re presented with each day.
So again, year after year I’m told to vote for this person or that person, and lately it’s felt like a lot of false choices upholding a way of life that routinely wars, enslaves, exploits, and corrupts. If you really think this system is working, then yes, let’s vote and mold it into what we want. But let’s think about this critically. Is this a system that is giving us all the choices we deserve? I’m voting today, but it’s only because I haven’t figured out what the other choice is yet.
I liked something I heard recently about making every dollar you spend a vote. I’m going to expand on that notion and say that we need to make every day a vote- every dollar, every action. Everything we do, how we relate to each other, how we eat, how we live- THAT is what is making the world we live in. And then there are some dudes out there that we have to keep from destroying everything… but I guess largely I think our every day counts so much more than a ballot, and I just won’t be fooled into thinking it makes the difference.
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I’m not voting today, because I don’t like ANY of the “choices” I’ve been given. I don’t believe in the false dichotomy portrayed as “choice” and I don’t want to vote “yes” or “no” for anybody or anything I don’t actually believe in. The system is broken and I spent more time wondering how much of a difference it would really make if EVERYONE stopped voting. Not that i really think that will happen, to many people believe in the system. But, I can’t in good faith take part in something I see as corrupt, broken and ineffectual. That said, if there had really been something I’d seen as important on the ballot today, I might have take the time to wade through the mountains of bullshit to “make my vote count” or whatever propaganda they want me to believe today.
This is pretty much how I feel about voting. Me and George Carlin man, we are like peas and carrots some days.
That was so great to watch. Thank you. George Carlin cracks me up. I love the part where he says it was bought and sold a while ago and all they’re doing is shuffling it around a little. As for you, I think part of the reason I wrote this is because I’m tiring of people getting up on the soap box to chastise those who choose not to vote. Because I used to feel that way, and then I started to feel like it was worthless. It’s not because we are apathetic! This is really a broken and ineffectual system, like you say. I also like what you say about what if everyone didn’t vote. I’d love to see that. For people not to take the crappy choices they’ve been given and to just say they won’t choose then! They’d have to change! 🙂
You know me, and you know I am weary of the US political system. More than weary. But, this election had several propositions I feel strongly about, and after the passing of prop 8 I vowed to never have faith in other peoples ability to vote for what’s right. This election was also different, because The Peace and Freedom Party had a lot of my friends in it, so I wanted to support them.
I think it’s good to do something, and I went and voted for mostly third party candidates and also on the proposals. By all means, we might as well vote. But ya know, we should also do what needs to be done to get gay people the rights that they deserve, etc… Anyway, I wish I had the answers. 🙂
🙂
I can definitely understand how you feel, but I’ve also been reminded in the past few days how much voting DOES matter and how very real the effects of our choices can be. For example, the chief justices of the Michigan supreme court that the democratic party supported are both in favor of Michigan’s No Fault auto system, which pays for rehab and care after people are in catastrophic car accidents (a majority of the clients at my internship have care funded by an auto company). If judges are elected who do not support no fault, there is a very real chance that it will be eliminated in our state, and the center where I am interning may close. This would make insurance companies quite happy, but leave my clients and the staff who serve them in a really bad place.
Another example is the proposal for a constitutional convention. Retired teachers pensions are guaranteed through the current constitution, but could be altered given a convention. With two parents as retired teachers, this would have a big impact on my life!
I wish I would have written about these things BEFORE the election, but I just thought I should chime in with my opinion 🙂
I agree, voting is a way to try to prevent our rights from being taken away, or to keep the disadvantaged from being forgotten, etc. That’s part of why I do vote. You and I are definitely of the same mind. But isn’t that so interesting? I mean, that we’re sent to the polls because we’re afraid of what our leaders will decide and that it will take away important things from people- like health care after a severe injury? This is silly. I mean, I think we should be pissed that this is what it’s become.
Yeah, I totally get where you are coming from. It’s a slight tangent, but I was just listening to NPR on the car ride home and heard Obama talking about how we need to make sure our children are the best educated in the world, and I thought, WHY? Why do we need to be the best?
Sometimes I would love to live in some small, stable, self-supporting country with excellent social services that wasn’t in this constant race to be the best.
I think your recycling analogy is very apt. Recycling isn’t going to solve all of our environmental problems, and voting isn’t going to solve all the problems of our social/cultural/political situation. But I also feel that I can’t stop doing either of them–I’ve got to recycle while I also work to produce less waste in general, and I’ve got to vote while I also think and write and have conversations and make choices in an effort to confront the brokenness of the system.
Even if none of the candidates in a given election match all my views (and they never do!), there are real differences between them and these differences impact people’s lives. So, for that reason I feel like I’ve got to vote.
But yeah, it is very much a broken system.
Absolutely. I suppose this was in response to all my like-minded friends who get up on their soap box at this time of year, and I’d been wondering why it had annoyed me recently. Like popples said up there, what if we all didn’t vote? That may have a more desired impact considering what we’re dealing with. They’d have to actually ask us the question, “Well, what do you want?” Anyway, I went and voted, because I believe we need to have a hand in all this, but I wonder if it is in some ways keeping us from doing what needs to be done, merely because we keep hoping that our votes will change things over time.
Well-said Grace! Another great post. I love the way you think.
This pretty much sums it up for me…I did vote (mostly for third-party candidates) yesterday because of the ingrained sense of “if you didn’t vote you can’t complain,” and there were some local issues that impact me directly. In this small town, for local issues, each vote can count!
However, I think our day to day living DOES count much more than voting here and there. This system is not something that could possibly represent me or my choices/needs/values. I have a sticky personal connection to the system (my dad and step-dad are both legislators)…it feels uncomfortable on so many fronts. But anyway, I think that I’ll continue to vote for local issues, but maybe abstain from voting for individual candidates in the years to come. Just thinking about the enormous amounts of human energy (not to mention money) squandered by our legislative system (and government as a whole) is sickening.
popples, love the Carlin clip!
I feel the same way, but the Carlin clip suggests otherwise! haha. I still do think it’s important to vote on those local issues- having to do with where money goes, etc. That’s a good point.
That’s actually a really good point- the waste of time and resources dedicated to just getting a person into office is enough of a reason to protest. So crazy! And it’s very strange today, the day after the election, realizing how small our little community really is compared to the rest of the state. How bad to I want my own little self-governed village? SO BAD.
I think your post is spot on. I recycle, and I vote. In the big picture I do think it means very little, but I can only do what I can. And this year especially, I wasn’t all that excited about anyone in particular. But I was/am very opposed to some of the intolerant and angry alternatives that were coming out of the woodwork. It has been upsetting to me to watch all of the hate all around me, and watching people I love get swept up into it. The idea of some of these people getting into positions of leadership was horrifying. I wish I wasn’t placing a vote solely to push the numbers against someone. I want to be able to vote FOR something/someone I believe in. And even though one candidate did seem to share most of my beliefs, this election season keeping people OUT was pretty much my focus. Kind of sad. :\
It is sad, but I’m glad that you’re thinking and doing what you can. The state of things is by no means a reason for apathy- just more of a reason to think outside the box! Just remember, you’re in good company. 🙂
You always make a good point.