Not trying to move anyone, but someone caused me to think why it matters to me that as many people vote as possibly can:
In the world of lies, damned lies and statistics, there are no statistics more damned (twisted, maligned, manipulated) than political demographics. A constant feature I find installed in my conservative friends is the notion that they represent the center, the moderate middle ground, and that the DemonRATS are fringy extremists. This is one of (the main?) reason(s) they believe they can't possibly lose a fair fight - they ARE the people.
The fact that Republican ideals and goals have suffered an extreme makeover since Goldwater's '64 defeat is no surprise, but the current campaign shows us signs of just how deep allegiance to a party can lead people to support candidates and policies that do not represent their values in any sensible or constructive way. As the result we are IMO teetering on the edge of catastrophe, given the stakes, and the paths represented by the candidates, and the mood of the times.
Our presidential elections are one of the very few occasions when the average citizen can do ANYTHING in concert with their fellow citizens, and even if we make every mistake along the way, we have never given in to fear; we'll give the wrong person a shot from time to time (Nixon, Reagan, Bush 2), but we've recovered. Part of how we've recovered is from the elections themselves. We talk about landslides, and mandates, and crap like that as if they had meaning, but the elections give us a NUMBER of votes one way and a NUMBER of votes another way, and that tells us a very great deal.
Demographers can and do carve that stuff up, but here's the thing: if we don't ALL stand up, then we don't actually know how loud or how soft any particular outcome is...and we never DO all stand up - for as long as I can remember, the majority of eligible voters s has not voted.
Think about that.
Reagan's famous "landslide"?
~27% of eligible voters. (IIRC)
A fraction of a minority.
So, where's the herd? Sitting these things out - and probably then saying, 'don't blame me, I didn't vote for it'. Decade after decade after decade. As plans go, not voting offers the lowest return I can imagine.
I can sit around and shoot the shit for days w/ the boys at the gas station about what's all wrong about things and what needs to change, and in the end, we'll agree on one thing, at least: public government for all its faults is still considerably better than the PRIVATE government we came here to get away from. You remember, all those kings, dukes, princes...the original entitlements.
Putting people in government who believe that government has no role or should have no role is only a working strategy if you're very, very wealthy already. For everybody else, it's just putting more holes in the bottom of the boat.
Which brings us back to the question: HOW MANY?
How many voted for Dingle #1, and how many voted for Dingle #2?
(No one cares how many voted for #3. There is no #3.)
Those numbers move and how they move tells us where we really are better than any figuring, 'cause, well...statistics….
If we imagine we know where we are in terms of out imaginary national political center, each of these contests gives us a chance to re-calibrate, to better understand what we are trying so desperately to indicate via this vast ungainly process. We need to know how strongly people feel about the path we're on, AND we'll find that in the eventual analysis; but don't pretend it's much evolved beyond geomancy. Still, we need to know what we’re up against.
We want to believe we're right, and we want to believe we have the best information, and that our choices and decisions are therefore also the best; we want it so badly we'll ignore evidence to the contrary and pretend we haven't chosen to do so. Because it's cold and lonely on this planet, and it makes us crazy. We need data, we need input, we need reality checks; we need each other to show us where we’re going wrong sometimes
Please, don't vote - or not vote - crazy: vote like you plan to live in the world your vote makes, not like you're a despairing Romantic poet…