1:45 am

on voting. . .

I don’t want to feel this way. Well maybe I do. I think I may be addicted to the anger. It has served as my coping mechanism for as long as I can remember. Rarely external, I think it was really the only emotion I could safely express to my family. That and laughing at the cutting sarcasm being thrown around constantly.

Still, in this case I think my anger is righteous. I am awash in fuckery, and most of it is perpetrated by a system that treats me like a commodity and not a human being. I am a number, a revenue source, a laborer who needs to stay in line or be chopped to bits and spit out for fertilizer to keep the machine running.

The machine. The man. The state. The system. It has many names. Sort of like Beelzebub. It grows like cancer and I refuse to worship it. The demon I have to face is the United States Government and it is a big bastard.

On the surface, the US government is a Constitutional Republic. In theory, the powers of the government are limited by the Constitution. That is the “Constitutional” part. The “Republic” part is where it gets a bit sketchy. I mean sketchier than the overwhelming amount of power the government leverages outside of its constitutional mandate.

Essentially a citizen has the right to vote but not to vote directly for a leader. You have the right to vote for a representative who is supposed to vote according to the tally, but this representative can vote their conscience. In essence the representative can do what they want.

My vote in those cases does not matter.

Hell, in 2000 the Supreme Court elected our president and I didn’t vote for that.

Anyway, this delegate system is the basis of why people want to eliminate the Electoral College. That is just throwing the baby out with the bathwater. People think they want a direct democracy, but without a representative government, power is concentrated in population centers and I sure as shit don’t want a bunch of Los Angelinos and New Yorkers telling me how to live my life. They don’t have to deal with bears.

Actual bears, not metaphorical bears or men on the sexual activity spectrum.

Bears don’t care how you vote.

Meanwhile we are told we need to spread democracy. We are told we are losing our democracy. We hear about how people came to power because they were democratically elected. We are told democracy is essential even through democracy is basically mob rule. If you are in a group of 10 and 6 people vote to eat you, well, you are the next meal.

Your vote in that case does not matter.

A direct democracy can strip you of your rights if there isn’t a constitution in place to secure them. The solution proposed in the US is an indirect democracy with the illusion of choice. We have a two party system, forced to vote for one side or another, and neither side has proven to be the slightest bit effective at improving the human condition or ensuring constitutional protections.

So, even if I decide it is my civic duty to participate in a system I don’t agree with, I have to assume the process is corruption free, the populace is well informed, and every vote is counted and the delegates won’t go rogue. Let’s assume all this is true and my vote actually matters.

Cool.

All that means is the person who is most popular or has the most popular ideas is now in power. Power to the people? It seems like I just voted my power away. Somehow my power is in my vote. Good in theory, but I don’t have any power. You know why?

Money.

Money is more powerful than votes. If a corporation or a nation state needs a political system to fall in line, that money will get its way. Industries spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year to lobby the government. Do you think they spend this money to not get something out of it?

Unless you have that kind of money to throw around, your vote does not matter.

Even then there is no system to vet the ideas before they are implemented, and once that machine starts going it is really hard to stop it. Economies have existed for about as long as civilization has. We have a long ass view of what works and what doesn’t on timescales that span the lifetimes of civilizations. Yet somehow, in 2026, we still can’t figure out how to keep the economy stable?

Bullshit.

We are no less global than the Silk Road days. The system isn’t more complicated than other empires faced. The people who run this shit know exactly what they are doing and they are able to consolidate wealth every single time there is a manufactured crisis. Billionaires don’t go broke. The public goes broke.

Okay, so that’s the feds. Of course they are totally corrupt, completely infiltrated, and utterly covered in swamp juice. We all know that, but what about State governments? That’s where the real democracy takes place right?

Sort of.

All states have another constitution. Another layer of control over what you, I mean the government, can and cannot do. It is another entry point for corruption and has all the same hallmarks as the feds.

Power was supposed to reside at the state level in ways that directly impacts the citizens of that state. The feds were not supposed to really do much according to the constitution. The state was supposed to be an independent enclave free to pass any law its populace wanted so long as it didn’t violate the US Constitution. This is why you can get marijuana legalized at the state level even though it is still a controlled substance according to the feds.

I will say, historically, states are better at adhering to their constitution, but the corruption seems worse. Well, the corruption is more obvious and straightforward. Federal corruption is massive and destructive but also more obscure. Well hidden. State corruption is mundane, usually bribery or embezzlement. Greedy politicians stealing public funds.

In the end, only 1% of state politicians claim to be something other than Democrat or Republican so even at that level you don’t really have much political choice. You have an illusion backed by parties that spend a lot of money to make sure they stay in power. Want to try to elect someone outside the two party system?

Your vote does not matter.

We are left with the local government. Another layer of restrictions and flaming hoops to jump through in order to generate revenue to support the system that is restricting your freedom. They call these municipal codes. Another opportunity for corruption, another means for people who shouldn’t be allowed to have power to abuse said power. More taxes, more fees, and more bullshittery to focus on.

Bullshittery no one pays attention to in favor of watching the feds continually fuck them over. Or more accurately, people rally only pay attention to their phones and the distractions served up to obfuscate the bullshittery. The decisions at your local level probably impact you far more than the decisions of the feds. Still, people will spend their lives discussing the latest puppet being dangled in front of them like any of that matters. Everyone knows who the president is. Few people can name their city council members.

Who cares. DC is a much more exciting television show. We should give them all the power and attention because they are the most entertaining. This is until you realize the US Government was lost decades ago and it has been proven time after time after time that no matter what the leader says, they are going to pursue one thing.

War.

In the history of the country, the US has only managed to not be warring for about 15 years collectively. This is not the longest streak, this is to the approximate total time there has not been bloodshed. The longest streak of not shoving weapons in peoples faces has been about three years. That streak was a while ago. I am old as shit and in my life time there has been zero peace. None. For my entire half century of living the government has been involved in at least one ongoing military intervention, covert operation, or counter-terrorism action.

I didn’t vote for any of them.

In reality the only time your vote really matters is to elect your Sheriff. They hold a great deal of power and dictate how state violence will be doled out and when. That is, of course, if you even have an elected sheriff. In many places that position is appointed if it even exists at all.

In that case your vote does not matter.

I know. I have heard all the arguments. All of them are pretty shallow. Lets go through them shall we?

duckduckgo search why voting is important

AI vomit

-Voting allows citizens to participate in the decision-making process and influence government policies.

Until moneyed interests want something other than what voters want.

-Voting gives individuals the opportunity to express their opinions and choose representatives who align with their values.

No politician aligns with my values. Mainly because my values are not being a leech on society who lies all the time to start wars.

-Elected officials are held accountable for their actions through the electoral process.

Fucking what?!? When is the last time a politician was held accountable?

-Voting shapes legislation on critical issues such as healthcare, education, and the environment.

All of which are a complete disaster. Good job voters.

-Voting empowers historically marginalized groups, ensuring their needs and concerns are represented in government.

I will concede that if I had to vote to end slavery I would probably vote. I do think that issue took more than some ballots to figure out though. I think bullets were involved. I don’t know. My history is a bit fuzzy these days.

-Participation in elections fosters a sense of shared responsibility and community involvement.

Unless you vote the “wrong” way then you are called a Nazi or some iteration of “tard”.

-Engaging in the voting process encourages individuals to become informed about political issues and policies.

Yep. People who vote are quite often very learned when it comes to political issues. Voting the party line is totally not a thing.

-Throughout history, many individuals have fought for the right to vote, highlighting its importance in achieving equality and justice.

Oooh. Nice. Guilt trips. I am sure your argument is fucking solid when you have to whip out the ol’ people died so you could have this thing. We’ve ben voting for 250 years but according to the news we don’t have equality or justice so. . .

How does it matter?

Do what you want. Vote, don’t vote, hit yourself in the genitals with a rusty crowbar. I am not going to judge. If you think suffrage is the end all be all of being a good citizen, have fun with that. I am not trying to be a good citizen.

I am tying to be a good human being.

Plenty of bad human beings vote. Hell, a lot of bad human beings are elected by vote. What I have seen is, government is utterly inhumane and I will not participate. Having the right to select the way I will be buggered up the ouchie hole doesn’t appeal to me. But what do I know. I don’t even carry a smart phone.