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"Why Vote?"
OPINION ARTICLE
by Don Farkas
August 12, 2006
Whenever it comes time to vote I am always reminded of the line in the classic movie, "Casablanca," where Humphrey Bogart says to Ingrid Bergman, "It doesn't take much to see the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world." To bean counters in the world, it is easy to think like that about participating in elections, especially with regard to the impact of our own little vote, cast among tens of thousands or millions of other votes. As a practical matter of its intrinsic usefulness, the question is often asked as to why bother to vote.
Why vote? The answer turns out to depend on the value one assigns to several very subtle and difficult to prove assumptions about the worth, reasonableness, and future of humankind. These include the following:
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A DIRECT FORM OF GOVERNMENTAL PARTICIPATION: The act of voting, even as small and incremental an act as it might seem, is actually the most direct method of participation and expression that is available for most persons to give voice and influence to their opinions about public policy. |
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CREATES A HIGHER REGARD FOR PUBLIC OPINION: Taken collectively, the proportion of the population that participates in an election by voting likely directly correlates with the degree of importance that will ultimately be placed on considering their opinions. |
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PROMOTES SOCIAL PEACE: Voting in elections reflects a tacit agreement by the people who participate that they will rely on the results of the elections as the best way to peacefully resolve political disputes and to choose representatives in government. |
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USUALLY INCREASES THE ODDS OF DETERMINING THE BEST DECISION: Winston Churchill once famously said that democracy was the worst form of government, except for all of the others. An examination of history and common experience suggests that obtaining the largest sampling of opinions to decide an issue, as reflected by the total number of voters making the decision, usually tends to increase the likelihood that the best decision will be ultimately be reached by the majority. |
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REINFORCES PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF GOVERNMENTAL LEGITIMACY: Participating in voting serves as a tangible demonstration of public trust that the government conducting the election is legitimate because it can reliably provide an accurate accounting of the results and will allow those results to be determinative. |
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WIN OR LOSE, THE RESULTS OF ELECTIONS MAY INFLUENCE FUTURE EVENTS: Participating in elections by voting one's conscience, regardless of the anticipated outcome, reflects the recognition that the tabulated results of any given election may significantly influence the direction of public policy down the road. |
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HELPS PRESERVE PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY: Registering to vote and going to the polls to vote are the bare minimum political acts required of citizens to help preserve, protect, and defend the principles of democracy that underlie their political rights. |
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HONORS THOSE WHO HELPED WIN OUR RIGHTS: Because people are not forced to vote, taking the time to do so honors and shows thanks to those whose struggle and sacrifice helped us to achieve our rights. |
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REAFFIRMS HUMAN WORTH AND DIGNITY: On a philosophical level, voting is a tangible expression of personal political power that reaffirms human worth and dignity by demonstrating that each person is a separate individual entitled to their own opinions, and that their opinions matter. |
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SERVES AS A PERIODIC REMINDER TO OFFICIALS OF THE NEED TO OBTAIN THE CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED: Voting in elections serves to periodically remind governmental officials that, in the United States of America, the government's just powers are considered to be derived from the consent of the governed, just as it also reminds the governed of their need to periodically re-evaluate and renew giving their consent or else risk devaluing its importance. |
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LENDS MORAL AUTHORITY TO CRITICIZE THE GOVERNMENT: Participating in voting gives the persons who voted the moral authority to later criticize government decisions or officials that they do not approve of, while giving the persons who did not bother to vote some of the blame. |
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PROMOTES FAIR AND TRANSPARENT ELECTIONS: Participating in voting increases the opportunity for the public to personally witness the procedures being used by their government to conduct elections, which likely tends to discourage unfair practices. |
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DECREASES THE RISK OF ELECTION FRAUD: The more people who go to vote in an election, the more difficult it probably becomes for someone to successfully cheat or fraudulently rig the results of the election. |
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FORCES PEOPLE TO MAKE A DECISION AND TAKE A MORAL STAND: Having to face up to making a choice as to where to place one's indelible vote with regard to a particular issue at a particular point in time, forces a person to finally make a decision and to take a moral stand about the issue. |
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EACH ELECTION COULD BE THE LAST ONE IN THIS CRAZY WORLD: A massively large turnout for the election of November, 2006, might help reverse the dangerous trends which have made it more likely that the next election could turn out to be the last one that Americans will have a chance to vote in for a very long time. |
EDITOR'S
NOTE: Anyone who has any questions, comments or concerns should
feel free to contact:
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Don Farkas
Don Farcus is a frequent contributor to LA Community Policing.
He's Chair of the ad hoc Bel Air Public Safety Advisory Committee
(BAPSAC) and Former BABC NC Public
Safety Committee Chairperson.
Email: donfarkas@belairmail.com
Phone - (310) 472-4822
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