What If I Don't Vote? (Part 1)

       Aged thirty-one years at the time of this writing, I have been old enough to vote since the election of 2000. In every election, then and since, I always hear friends (different ones) say they are not interested in voting either because they do not think their vote counts (see my July 10th posting entitled "Does My Vote Really Count?" for an explanation of how your vote really does count) or that  it doesn't matter who the next president is because presidents are all the same (see my July 9th posting entitled "Does It Really Matter Who The Next President Is?" for an explanation of how it really does matter who the next president is). 

       Some people don't vote because they don't like any of the candidates. From this feeling, it follows that they think voting is only a choice between "the lesser of two evils." And what happens if the candidate they vote for actually wins and ends up a disappointment as president (or senator, or congressman, the point is the same)? If you vote for an elected official who turns out to be your worst nightmare, isn't it your fault it came to be that way? Added to all these dilemmas is the savaging competing politicians do to each others' character in the media. "Don't vote for that guy, he will bring an end to America as we know it!" How would you like to have that hang over your conscience? You wouldn't. Better to stay home election day and let the chips fall where they may, right? Isn't that the higher, wiser road?

        Suppose you choose not to vote based on any or all the reasons above, the next question to ask is, "What happens as a consequence if I don't vote?" Simply put, if you don't vote, you are leaving the fate of the country in the hands of other voters. You are trusting that their wisdom is greater than yours. What if they elect leaders who turn out to be rattlesnakes? What if they elect leaders who rule without regard to the U.S. Constitution? Indeed, what if they elect leaders who create laws that violate the U.S. Constitution? What if they elect leaders who pass amendments that change the U.S. Constitution so that it no longer resembles the U.S. Constitution? Could it ever happen in America? Many people in Germany thought it could never happen there, in the election of 1932. Why should they have worried about it? They lived in a democracy, right? Better to stay home and let the chips fall where they may.


        In 1932, Adolf Hitler's Nazi party became the largest party in Germany's parliament (equivalent to the U.S. Congress). The Nazis did not seize power by force - they won it in a free election! German tradition held that the leader of the largest party in parliament had a claim to be appointed chancellor. (In their system, they had a president and a chancellor). President Paul Hindenburg (not a fan of Hitler) felt compelled to appoint Hitler as the country's chancellor. The president was a very old man, some say he was senile. Under his nose, Chancellor Hitler appointed Nazis to take over all the country's police and security forces. After only a year in power, Hitler abolished the presidency (following the natural-cause death of old Hindenburg) and made himself the ruler of Germany under a new title - Fuhrer of the Reich. Hitler never bothered to write a new constitution for Germany, he simply ignored the old one. He proceeded to change the laws of the country. People's civil rights were stripped away from. Those Hitler deemed enemies were jailed or killed. Within twelve years, his Nazi party was responsible for the deaths of millions of people in the world.

       Try to imagine yourself as a German citizen who chose not to vote in 1932. You trusted the wisdom of others and left your fate in their hands. Could something as frightening as the Nazi example happen in America? You bet it could. Why? Because a democracy is only as good as the people entrusted to run it. If we elect good leaders, our democracy will be good. If we elect monsters, our democracy will be ripped to shreds.


       You might be thinking, "This is all well and good, Jason. But how do I know I can make the right choice in an election?" You can make the right choice by voting for people who claim to uphold the U.S. Constitution. How will you know this? You will know it in the language they use when they talk about what guides their decision-making. If they never (or rarely) mention the U.S. Constitution, it is a red flag. (In the years before he came to power, Adolf Hitler never pretended he would uphold Germany's constitution. In his televised speeches, he made it clear that a vote for the Nazis was a vote for dictatorship. He promised to outlaw all political parties if his Nazis were elected.)


        If politicians do not invoke the constitution and instead use high-flown language like, "we are going to expand social security to cover more people" or "we are going to make sure health insurance companies do not deny people for pre-existing conditions", this is all well and fine - but do not ever think it is more important than enforcing the U.S. Constitution. Once we lose the constitution we are doomed!


       Your vote is your power to keep our democracy functioning. You have the right not to vote. But exercising that right will never improve the democracy we have. Without your vote, it will only wilt and die, like a flower denied water to sustain it. The haunting example of Nazi Germany will always be before us because it is an example of democracy being used in order to undo democracy. Do not ever assume that other voters will make wiser choices than you. Two quotes have lately been ringing in my head. Thomas Jefferson wrote that a society can never be both "ignorant and free." Ronald Reagan warned "freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction." Ignorance is a choice. To ignore public affairs is to leave it in the hands of others and hope they know better. But do you really want to hang your freedom on it? It took two years (not even close to a generation) to snuff out freedom in Germany. Your vote is the best you can do to protect freedom in America. Use it and use it wisely.


Jason A.




Next Blog Will Be:   What if I Don't Vote?  (Part 2)