Stop the Press!

I KNEW there was something I was going to write about but with such a complete lack of coverage on the news, it consistently slips my mind.  Anyway, before I forget again, I thought I’d let any Americans reading this that apparently there’s an election coming up soon in your country.  It’s slipped under the radar of most networks I gather and hardly anyone’s been paying attention to it but it’s now past the primary stages and I think the voting part could even be next week.  Anyway, now it’s down to two, it should be quite easy to decide either way so get to it, American cousins!

I have very strong feelings on voting and can’t stand it when people say that they don’t vote as it doesn’t make a difference.  Aside from the obvious thought for all the people that died to protect the public’s right to freedom and political choice, it’s such a hollow excuse.  The usual argument in the UK is that as the parties are so similar, a vote makes no difference so there’s no need to even go to the polling station.  Do these people think that by not voting, that’s going to change the system?  Is there any possibility that a political party will consider changing their policies and decisions based on the opinion of someone who couldn’t be bothered to leave the house?

If you truly don’t believe in either party, never forget that there’s always another option that actually sends a message to the parties; spoiling your card.  Every card that gets defaced is marked down as a spoiled vote and the more of these that stack up, the more the parties in power will realise that the public is crying out for something that no-one is currently offering.

In the case of America, I can’t see this being much of an issue this time round as the differences are so pronounced.  It must be a joy to be a part of a political system where so many issues are divided clearly between the parties.  So, American reader, please make sure you vote on Tuesday.  I have my personal preference but as that means less than zip to the outcome, I’ll shut up and just say good luck!

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 at 3:19 pm. It is filed under Thoughts and tagged with america, American, Barack Obama, democracy, Democrat, John McCain, media, news, politics, Republican, United States, US, vote, voting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.