It’s election day in the US. I got to vote for governor, senator, congressperson, secretary of the state, treasurer, state rep, state senator, and probate judge. There were also two ballot questions. One was whether we should allow early voting here. The other was a change to the town charter. I felt pretty blah about the whole thing.
It wasn’t always this way. I remember being really excited about turning 18 because I’d finally be able to vote. For most of my adult life, I’d get excited for election day. You know, participating in democracy and all that. The past few years, though, haven’t felt the same.
I think a big part of the change is there’s no longer any point to learning about the candidates and the issues. I’m going to vote across the Democratic ticket no matter what. The Republicans have become a force for evil. Not only are they a direct threat to me with their antisemitism, Covid conspiracies, and climate change denial, they are also a threat to everyone I hold dear. There’s not a choice in voting anymore and that depresses me.
Also, my thinking has evolved to the point where I no longer think that voting is the best way to choose a government. I believe Plato said something along the lines of I wouldn’t want to be ruled by anyone who wants to be a ruler. Instead, the government should be chosen by lots. People would essentially get drafted into government. I’m not going to get into all the reasons for it now, but I will write more on it at a later date.
I used to be eager to vote. Now I only vote out of a sense of duty. I wish I could get the old feeling back, but I have a hunch there have to be some drastic changes before that can happen. I hope everyone else had a pleasant election day, though.
