The problem is, as Americans, we’re so spoiled that we think that every time we make any decision, we’re supposed to immediately receive some wonderful, gratifying reward for that decision.
There is no real reward for voting, except maybe a little sticker that says “I voted.” It’s simply the execution of a civil responsibility. It’s like paying taxes, staying informed, obeying the law, participating in your community and respecting your neighbors. We don’t necessarily get anything out of those things, we don’t usually enjoy doing these things, we just do them because that’s how civilizations work, and each of us needs to be part of that.
Sure, sometimes when the person you vote for wins, you’re glad about it. But unless you’re deeply invested in that person, that feeling is fleeting at best. There’s no pie. There’s no cash reward. Things might eventually change, but it happens so gradually that you hardly notice. There is no gratification. There isn’t supposed to be.
We want every decision we make to be a wonderful choice between wonderful things. We want voting to be “should I get chocolate or should I get strawberry? They’re both so delicious, I wish I could get both.”
We want voting to be, “should I order steak or chicken?” or “should I binge-watch Breaking Bad or the original Star Wars movies?” or “should we go to the ball game or the casino?”
When we vote, we want to ask ourselves, “which of these two fantastic people do I love more?”
We should be asking ourselves, “which of these two assholes is less likely to fuck everything up?”
Figure that out for yourself, make an informed decision, and pull a lever.
Voting is a duty, not a game, not a show. It’s not really even a competition, even though it seems like it with all the campaigning.
Vote because it’s your responsibility, not because it’s going to make you feel good.
There is no real reward for voting, except maybe a little sticker that says “I voted.” It’s simply the execution of a civil responsibility. It’s like paying taxes, staying informed, obeying the law, participating in your community and respecting your neighbors. We don’t necessarily get anything out of those things, we don’t usually enjoy doing these things, we just do them because that’s how civilizations work, and each of us needs to be part of that.
Sure, sometimes when the person you vote for wins, you’re glad about it. But unless you’re deeply invested in that person, that feeling is fleeting at best. There’s no pie. There’s no cash reward. Things might eventually change, but it happens so gradually that you hardly notice. There is no gratification. There isn’t supposed to be.
We want every decision we make to be a wonderful choice between wonderful things. We want voting to be “should I get chocolate or should I get strawberry? They’re both so delicious, I wish I could get both.”
We want voting to be, “should I order steak or chicken?” or “should I binge-watch Breaking Bad or the original Star Wars movies?” or “should we go to the ball game or the casino?”
When we vote, we want to ask ourselves, “which of these two fantastic people do I love more?”
We should be asking ourselves, “which of these two assholes is less likely to fuck everything up?”
Figure that out for yourself, make an informed decision, and pull a lever.
Voting is a duty, not a game, not a show. It’s not really even a competition, even though it seems like it with all the campaigning.
Vote because it’s your responsibility, not because it’s going to make you feel good.
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