Today: a few thoughts on voting. First and most important: go vote. Democracy does not work when citizens don’t vote. Voting is full of paradoxes. Maybe the biggest one of all is that after the fact a lot of votes won’t matter, but that is only after the fact. It is the very act of voting that establishes that fact in the first place. So ex ante every vote matters!
A bunch of people in my twitter feed have complained about the US presidential election system. And yes there are problems with it and I would love to see us innovate on democracy. But a lot of the criticism about having just two parties is somewhat misguided. Proportional voting systems have their own issues which are often more severe. Anyone who has lived in a country in which a small party has exerted huge influence, by virtue of being needed to form a coalition government, can attest to that.
The key feature of democracy when compared to other forms of government is that it allows for a peaceful transition of government through voting. Conversely, without it the vector for change is almost always violence. The non-violent change aspect of democracy is why Trump’s allegations that the election is rigged are so pernicious. They undermine the credibility of the outcome and open the door for violence.
So yes, you may feel unhappy about the choice between Trump and Hillary. And you may wish there was another candidate who matters, but there isn’t. None of that is an excuse for not voting. Not voting is the same as voting for the candidate you like the least. Now try to picture how you will feel the morning after the election if Trump is the next president of the United States and you didn’t go vote.
Go vote!
