Conundrum
I’m looking forward to the elections being over so all of this can go away.
I don’t know what to do. On one hand, we have the choice between the lesser of two evils, of which I have my choice decided. But, the truth is that there are more than just two choices. There is a slew of other candidates out there besides Bush/Kerry (if someone says “like Nader?” I swear I’ll snap). In particular, I would like to vote for Michael Badnarik of the Libertarian Party.
So here is the problem: do I vote for Kerry to help ensure that Bush doesn’t get reelected, or do I vote for a candidate that I actually WANT to win? This is a close race, and I am honestly frightened by Bush staying in office. On the other hand, I hate to give up my values to vote for another candidate that I don’t trust, even though there is no chance of Badnarik winning.
It’s silly. On this scale, my vote doesn’t really matter – it won’t make one person win or loose, but it still counts for something (unless our voting machines break down).
::sigh:: I have a few more days to figure this out.
October 29th, 2004 at 12:59 pm
I don’t know if the following observation will help you decide but it might provide something to ponder. Casting the ballot with an eye on who wins in the immediate race seems to be the way you have formulated the question. Could you not also tackle the question from the systemic perspective that unless other parties begin over the course of the next election to garner votes there is little likelihood of shifting the bipartisan polarization that animates political life in the U.S.A. Would be fun to read on a T-shirt: “I Contributed to Polypartisanship in 04″
October 30th, 2004 at 12:10 pm
That is one of the other things I have thought about. I could go with the “I promise I’ll vote for who I actually want in 2008″ or I could realize that the situation may never change.
Still pondering… still not sure… But thank you for visiting Francois.