So my dad said I should change my registration to vote....

AiCPearlJamWeen

So last year my senior government teacher handed out the voting registrations to us and I wrote under the "other" box that I was communist. Surprisingly I got a letter from Albany saying that I was registered to legally vote now. I told my dad recently about it and he says I should change it because the FBI could come get me anytime now. I just laughed. I'm never going to vote and have no interest to so should I even care?

norm

why won't you vote?

oh and tell your dad it's not 1954.....:)

Vedderlution_Baby

Damn, that's pretty funny.

AiCPearlJamWeen

I know. He was born in 1954 so he thinks if we ever have a war with Russia I will be deported. Oh and "I will never be able to board a plane".

I won't vote because I hate politics. I strongly believe that it really doesn't matter who gets into office because the citizens get screwed one way or another.

Vedderlution_Baby

HAHAHAHAHAHA. That's priceless. Does he still refer to russia as the soviet union filled with them bastard commies?

the wolf

AiCPearlJamWeen wrote:

I know. He was born in 1954 so he thinks if we ever have a war with Russia I will be deported. Oh and "I will never be able to board a plane".

I won't vote because I hate politics. I strongly believe that it really doesn't matter who gets into office because the citizens get screwed one way or another.

wow, while this thread is funny, its kinda leaving me feeling uneasy lol

you should vote. and i agree with your dad, not for the same reasons, i guess i just dont think its that cool to mock the system, or make it a joke.

but hey thats just me, to each his/her own. more power to ya.

peace, love.

Fighting Hellfish

most years, you would be the norm by not voting. This year, I think you will be in the minority. This is going to be a historic election. You shouldn't miss it.

the wolf

Fighting Hellfish wrote:

most years, you would be the norm by not voting. This year, I think you will be in the minority. This is going to be a historic election. You shouldn't miss it.

i agree with you 100% . this is the year that could really set in motion the whole next century of our political sitiuation. i really believe that.
this could be the most important election in our lifetime!

go VOTE. i dont even care who you vote for, just use your voice.

Heineken Helen

AiCPearlJamWeen wrote:

So last year my senior government teacher handed out the voting registrations to us and I wrote under the "other" box that I was communist. Surprisingly I got a letter from Albany saying that I was registered to legally vote now. I told my dad recently about it and he says I should change it because the FBI could come get me anytime now. I just laughed. I'm never going to vote and have no interest to so should I even care?

Your dad's right... careful what you joke about on those things. It may seem funny to you but you're now registered as a communist and a lot of people don't like that... it's a scary country you live in so be careful.

Heineken Helen

the wolf wrote:

i agree with you 100% . this is the year that could really set in motion the whole next century of our political sitiuation. i really believe that.
this could be the most important election in our lifetime!

go VOTE. i dont even care who you vote for, just use your voice.

If somebody doesn't know anything about the candidates and thinks they're all just out to fuck everybody, they're perfectly entitled to not vote. I think just as seriously as to whether or not I'm going to vote as I do who I'm going to vote for... if they're all as bad as eachother in my opinion I choose to vote for a low turnout. Low turnouts make a bigger impression than spoiled votes. Democracy means you don't even have to vote if you don't want to... and yes, you can still complain about the whole fucking lot of them if you don't vote.

I'd rather somebody didn't vote than pull a name out of their arse and vote just for the sake of voting :rolleyes: that's ridiculous.

my2hands

AiCPearlJamWeen wrote:

I'm never going to vote and have no interest to so should I even care?

thats just ridiculous... and a smack in the face to those that have struggled and sacrificed over the years and centuries for your right to vote... it is no longer cool to be politically apathetic, so you can stop playing that lame roll of "i am too cool to vote or care"

excercise your rights

Dustin51

AiCPearlJamWeen wrote:

So last year my senior government teacher handed out the voting registrations to us and I wrote under the "other" box that I was communist. Surprisingly I got a letter from Albany saying that I was registered to legally vote now. I told my dad recently about it and he says I should change it because the FBI could come get me anytime now. I just laughed. I'm never going to vote and have no interest to so should I even care?

I love that man. Any time someone gives the system the big F U I'm all for it. However, as crazy as it sounds I would be a little worried about registering as a Communist. I know we shouldnt but it would make me uneasy everytime I had to travel out of the country.

Commy

AiCPearlJamWeen wrote:

I won't vote because I hate politics. I strongly believe that it really doesn't matter who gets into office because the citizens get screwed one way or another.

This forum is called The Moving Train for a reason. Its from a Howard Zinn quote , "You can't be neutral on a moving train."

Meaning you're participating in politics even if you don't realize it.

AS Nader puts it, "If you don't turn on to politics, politics will turn on you."

It's our inaction and apathy that the elite count on to do all sorts of terrible things around the world, in our name. We must be active-granted the presdential polls change little, but if the 50% of the country that feels the same as you decided to vote in November we could take the power back.

cornnifer

my2hands wrote:

thats just ridiculous... and a smack in the face to those that have struggled and sacrificed over the years and centuries for your right to vote... it is no longer cool to be politically apathetic, so you can stop playing that lame roll of "i am too cool to vote or care"

excercise your rights

In all due respect, i think it can be an exercise of rights to not vote. i'm 35 years old and this will be the first time i vote since 18. It has nothing to do with being "to cool". It has everything to do with not casting a ballot for someone i don't like or don't trust, just because i like the other option even less. For me its actually a form of civil disobedience in a way. This is the first time in my life i have, as the man himself says, found someone to be 'FOR' and not just someone to be "AGAINST". And believe me, i'm fired up. Show me something to vote "FOR", and i'll vote. And, this time, i am. Whole heartedly and confidently.

cornnifer

cornnifer wrote:

In all due respect, i think it can be an exercise of rights to not vote. i'm 35 years old and this will be the first time i vote since 18. It has nothing to do with being "to cool". It has everything to do with not casting a ballot for someone i don't like or don't trust, just because i like the other option even less. For me its actually a form of civil disobedience in a way. This is the first time in my life i have, as the man himself says, found someone to be 'FOR' and not just someone to be "AGAINST". And believe me, i'm fired up. Show me something to vote "FOR", and i'll vote. And, this time, i am. Whole heartedly and confidently.

i should add that if like minded voters come up short, and hillary clinton wins the nomination, i will be staying home for the general election. No way will i exercise my "right to vote" by casting a ballot for that snake, and writing in "pedro" is a waste of time.

Heineken Helen

cornnifer wrote:

In all due respect, i think it can be an exercise of rights to not vote. i'm 35 years old and this will be the first time i vote since 18. It has nothing to do with being "to cool". It has everything to do with not casting a ballot for someone i don't like or don't trust, just because i like the other option even less. For me its actually a form of civil disobedience in a way. This is the first time in my life i have, as the man himself says, found someone to be 'FOR' and not just someone to be "AGAINST". And believe me, i'm fired up. Show me something to vote "FOR", and i'll vote. And, this time, i am. Whole heartedly and confidently.

I agree with you completely. I hate this bullshit about all the sacrifices and people who died so I could vote... there's a reason it's not compulsory to vote cos THAT'S exercising your rights too. And yes, I have voted for the lesser of two evils before and, in this country anyway, it turns out they really are all the same. There IS no 'change' to vote for... so why vote? If people want to go through the motions of exercising their rights, so be it... but leave me alone if I choose NOT to.

Im still here

Heineken Helen wrote:

I agree with you completely. I hate this bullshit about all the sacrifices and people who died so I could vote... there's a reason it's not compulsory to vote cos THAT'S exercising your rights too. And yes, I have voted for the lesser of two evils before and, in this country anyway, it turns out they really are all the same. There IS no 'change' to vote for... so why vote? If people want to go through the motions of exercising their rights, so be it... but leave me alone if I choose NOT to.

this is the first real perspective of truth I have seen in "A Moving Train"

......but remember "you can't be neutral on a moving train"

choosing not to vote means you have no voice and you can't complain about the outcome

genie

AiCPearlJamWeen wrote:

So last year my senior government teacher handed out the voting registrations to us and I wrote under the "other" box that I was communist. Surprisingly I got a letter from Albany saying that I was registered to legally vote now. I told my dad recently about it and he says I should change it because the FBI could come get me anytime now. I just laughed. I'm never going to vote and have no interest to so should I even care?

i can just see my dad saying similar kind of thing, he gets paranoid too.

don't be so adamant about voting

i know it's funny what your dad said but he is right. i know it sounds unlikely that FBI would get you but you never know they might mix up the records or will try to check up on you...i mean anything can happen, they could make mistake that will cost you your life.

i know i maybe sound a bit freaky, but before you go and laught look at what happened in UK

http://feellondon.co.uk/news/latest/london-police-lawyer-says-de-menezes-killing-was-mistake.html

Heineken Helen

Im still here wrote:

this is the first real perspective of truth I have seen in "A Moving Train"

......but remember "you can't be neutral on a moving train"

choosing not to vote means you have no voice and you can't complain about the outcome

Don't get me wrong, I think I've voted for everything since I turned 18... last time around though in the general election I finally understood why some people choose to NOT vote. I eventually chose to vote for who I considered to be the lesser of two evils.

However, even if you DON'T vote, these people are still choosing how your country is run and many things that effect your life (if you voted, somebody still going to be making these decisions)... everyone has a right to complain and to speak out about what's going on. You always have a voice and you can always complain... that's the great thing about democracy. Don't try and tell those who exercised their right to NOT vote that they no longer have a say in the running of their own country.

Im still here

Heineken Helen wrote:

Don't get me wrong, I think I've voted for everything since I turned 18... last time around though in the general election I finally understood why some people choose to NOT vote. I eventually chose to vote for who I considered to be the lesser of two evils.

However, even if you DON'T vote, these people are still choosing how your country is run and many things that effect your life (if you voted, somebody still going to be making these decisions)... everyone has a right to complain and to speak out about what's going on. You always have a voice and you can always complain... that's the great thing about democracy. Don't try and tell those who exercised their right to NOT vote that they no longer have a say in the running of their own country.

i do believe that if you don't vote you can't complain

either you are part of the problem or you are part of the solution

i think you want your cake and eat it too

life doesn't work that way

and anyway freedom of speech is dead, google freespeech zones

so all we have left to voice our opinion is to vote

Heineken Helen

Im still here wrote:

i do believe that if you don't vote you can't complain

either you are part of the problem or you are part of the solution

i think you want your cake and eat it too

life doesn't work that way

and anyway freedom of speech is dead, google freespeech zones

so all we have left to voice our opinion is to vote

Freedom of speech is NOT dead... but speech does little to change things... as does voting unfortunately! Unless once in a blue moon, the ideal independent candidate pops up... but unfortunately people are too predictable and stick with their parties refusing to believe that something better could possibly exist... or possibly cos they're happy with how things are

I don't believe in the power of one anymore... so I don't believe you're either part of the solution or the problem.

Im still here

Heineken Helen wrote:

Freedom of speech is NOT dead... but speech does little to change things... as does voting unfortunately! Unless once in a blue moon, the ideal independent candidate pops up... but unfortunately people are too predictable and stick with their parties refusing to believe that something better could possibly exist... or possibly cos they're happy with how things are

I don't believe in the power of one anymore... so I don't believe you're either part of the solution or the problem.

then you are a part of the problem.......

Heineken Helen

Im still here wrote:

then you are a part of the problem.......

Elaborate please?

How are you making things better by voting between two people you care nothing for and don't like? Unless you get to CHOOSE who to vote for... how about instead of politicians deciding who's gonna run, the people actually vote for who they WANT to run?

All I can actually see is a load of politicians making decisions and then telling US to decide which of THEIR decisions we like the best.

Im still here

Heineken Helen wrote:

Elaborate please?

How are you making things better by voting between two people you care nothing for and don't like? Unless you get to CHOOSE who to vote for... how about instead of politicians deciding who's gonna run, the people actually vote for who they WANT to run?

All I can actually see is a load of politicians making decisions and then telling US to decide which of THEIR decisions we like the best.

if you vote in the primaries or caucuses then you get to choose

but apathetic people who think their vote doesn't count are the problem

if it was mandatory to vote it would be a better system, but there are obvious flaws with that too ie: freedom, choice, things like that

i don't know how to fix the problem, but i do know this:

1) people who do vote choose for those who don't
2) people who become delegates have more of a voice than those who don't

Heineken Helen

but you're still giving the same reasons... I've told you why I don't see many elections as a choice at all... so how can I change it so that I HAVE a choice? That's the only solution I want to be part of. I don't see voting for candidate A as being part of the solution... when once candidate A gets into power they run the country exactly the same as candidate B would have done.

Coming up to our elections last year, I analysed each and every party and their policies and the only ones whose policies actually differed from the rest when you look at them hard enough was Sinn Fein... and I don't fancy a shot at communism anytime soon.

Honestly, there was NO difference in any matters that concerned me at all... when all candidates are the same there's no point voting cos either way you're just gonna get the same.

Im still here

Heineken Helen wrote:

but you're still giving the same reasons... I've told you why I don't see many elections as a choice at all... so how can I change it so that I HAVE a choice? That's the only solution I want to be part of. I don't see voting for candidate A as being part of the solution... when once candidate A gets into power they run the country exactly the same as candidate B would have done.

Coming up to our elections last year, I analysed each and every party and their policies and the only ones whose policies actually differed from the rest when you look at them hard enough was Sinn Fein... and I don't fancy a shot at communism anytime soon.

Honestly, there was NO difference in any matters that concerned me at all... when all candidates are the same there's no point voting cos either way you're just gonna get the same.

agreed, it is fixed

Heineken Helen

Im still here wrote:

if you vote in the primaries or caucuses then you get to choose

That is true... you get to choose BETWEEN those who have ALREADY been chosen.

We don't have anything like the primaries here though. There are parties, those parties vote for their leader... we then vote for our local member of government (could be an independent or a member of a party) all those votes for your local councillor adds up to the total number of votes for the party. Whichever party has the most votes, their leader is Taoiseach (Prime Minister).

Our President is a different story and a much more ambassadorial role but it's basically a load of individuals running and we vote between all of them. You do need SOME government backing to become a candidate but not much. There are SOME party members who run but the party has nothing to do with the role of the president.