politics
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I'll vote when there's a candidate worth voting for, or they make "none of the above" an option that disbars the candidates from running again in the future.
In my opinion this is flawed logic. Not voting doesn't accomplish any of the things you want, on the contrary it plays into goals of parties because they want voter apathy -- the less people voting the easier it is for an unpopular candidate to win. I'm definitely not voting for someone I like, I'm voting against the person I think will destroy democracy (and I similarly hate that this is the set of options we are given -- no one would have picked these candidates).
I can't argue with that logic, except that it relies on a false premise of what I want from the election and an unrealistic understanding of just how little influence I can have on it as a citizen of a non-swing state.
I don't want to see either of the major parties in the white house. Logic suggests that I should make an accelerationist vote for Trump, as his presidency would no doubt hasten the inevitable collapse of the American Empire, or at least its current political establishment. But I can't vote for Trump for the same reason that I can't vote for Biden, the active support for genocide.
I also see voting "against" as a corruption of the principles of democracy. Elections aren't a process by which leaders are selected, that's merely a secondary effect. The purpose of elections is to legitimize the State, a reification of the "implied consent of the governed" that entitles a government to act with authority. But I see our current government as fundamentally illegitimate (as evidenced by our abysmal voter turnout figures), and voting against the worst candidate is still placing a vote of confidence in the government itself.
So, until there's an option that doesn't want to arm rogue states in the middle east, I'll just save myself some time on voting day.
Can't argue with any of your points -- I can only commiserate with the way you feel as I share a lot of the same sentiments. I appreciate the open candor and willingness to have a dialogue about this!
Likewise! I love to argue about politics but so many people just get angry when presented with a different perspective. The occasional chat like this is such a treat. ^_^