Throwing Away Your Vote

In 1980, our choices were: a good but downtrodden man whom the terrorists were mocking, who had done his damnedest to pull us through four very tough years, and who believed thoroughly in the inherent dignity of the human soul and the need to protect same; a smiling former actor and conservative governor who believed in the power of business and work to enrich the human condition, and who believed in simple, effective answers to life's persistent questions; and a bunch of so-called "third-party" candidates (counted properly, there were actually more than ten).

I lived in Indiana. Indiana was going to go in an avalanche for Ronald Reagan. I was distraught.

And then Doonesbury started talking about a man who was fiscally conservative without being determined to "starve the monster of the federal government to death;" a man who, however, was socially very very liberal.

I could respect a man like that. And it was clear to me that Carter was about to lose badly and besides, the man needed a break before his heart gave out on him.

I voted for Anderson.

My mother called and asked who I had voted for, and when I answered, she shrieked that I had "thrown my vote away," using it on a man who had no chance to win.

I asked her if she really truly meant that we are required to vote for the one most likely to win, rather than the one we think best would serve the country. She has never actually understood my question, then or since.

I say to you: Prioritize your choices. Who do you honestly think, out of the entire slate, would best serve our country? Remember the job description, and work from that, rather than the job description of, say, celebration organizer or youth pastor.

Put the rest in order on that basis as well.

Identify the person or people who you think would actively ill-serve the country; if all else fails, you can at least vote against them.

Once that ordering is done, see whether there are to be any landslides in your state. If so, feel free to vote for your top candidate regardless.

If it is close, though, consider: is this a situation in which you need to vote against someone? If so, throw your vote to the person who has the best chance of holding that one at bay.

At the end, no vote is ever wasted. No vote is ever thrown away.

Make sure that your vote works to achieve your goals. Nothing else is of any import.

Voting Sticker!

My lady and I voted Saturday. We waited for 20 minutes outside the building, and then an additional 2-odd hours inside. The lines were calm, and I helped sing a toddler to sleep. We (the other voters and I, as I had made my walking-pneumonia-laden wife sit down whilst I went around the loop) discussed how it felt like we had worked for our vote this year.

lunaris1013 is offering voting stickers! go get yours!