Why I'm not voting!
- August 29, 2008 at 2:35 PM by monique324
- 18 Comment(s)
- 187 Total Views
I never thought my grandparents would be around to see a black man win a Presidential nomination. My grandparents might just be around to see a black President. The incredibly historic change that is changing the political platforms is paramount for the livelihood of the world's greatest superpower. The doors are opening just in time when blacks feel the curtains closing. The plight and flight of black Americans will not conclude on a victorious Barrack Obama. Nevertheless I have decided I'm not voting.
People ask me all the time who am I voting for? They automatically assume it's the candidate which I share the same skin color with. While I appreciate and admire the opportunities Obama has been afforded, I have to yield when punching the chad below his name. A vote for Obama would go against every moral principle and nearly every issue I side with. To avoid the "traitor" comments or to avoid the assumption that I'm throwing away everything blacks fought so hard for, I've decided to take a back seat and sit this race out. Now I'm beside myself with this heart aching decision. I've gone back and forth to and fro and crossing party lines merely on the basis of race seems too far fetched for me. I'm still uneasy about this decision to not vote. A democracy in which I live has blessed me with many choices. I can go to sleep election night and rest assured that I won't get beheaded because of my failure to visit the election polls. My decision to not vote lies in these three points:
- Electoral college- We all know our individual vote or popular vote for that matter is not the deciding factor. Living in a state that has the most electors (55) makes it certain that whatever party I ultimately decide to align with, will be clouded by the historic winner-takes-all vote that California has typically been favored towards the dems. Campaigning in California is a waste of time, IMO. Please stop telling me my vote counts! The Republicans haven't carried California in two decades.
http://www.electoral-vote.com/
- I don't believe in the lesser of two evils. I'm not a registered republican nor am I a registered democrat. I refuse to let party lines suck me in to their lies and nonsense. I'm an independent voter and a free thinker. I vote according to plans and policies not race or party affiliation. None of the candidates get a stamp of approval from me. Socialist agendas are not concepts that I'm willing to strive for. Ron Paul was promising and then he abandoned me ;O.
- The constitution and the very principles this country was founded on are being seized by untraditional trial lawyers. We are re-writing the constitution with help from ACLU type organizations. Is this the change you yearn for?
Tags: mccain, obama, free thinker, america, land of the free, freedom, why i\'m not voting
- Written by monique324 on August 29, 2008 at 2:35 PM
- 187 total views
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Comments:
I SAW OBAMA'S SPEECH AND ACCEPTANCE LAST NIGHT AND I WAS IMPRESSED AND EMOTIONALLY STIRRED, I DID NOT LIKE THIS CANDIDATE AT THE BEGINNING, I HAD MY DOUBTS, BUT THIS IS A HUMBLE MAN WHO HAS BEEN IN EVERYONE'S SHOES AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER WHO IS WILLING TO GIVE US THE CHANGE THAT WE SO DESPERATELY NEED, AND WHO WILL LOOK OUT FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS THAT MOST POLITICIANS HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT. YES, I KNOW CANDIDATES SAY ANYTHING WE WANT TO HEAR AT THE TIME AND THEY DON'T ALWAYS COME THROUGH ON THEIR PROMISES, BUT I FOR ONE WILL GO MY GUT FEELING, IT HASN'T FAILED ME YET.
YOU, YOUNG LADY CAN DO ANYTHING YOUR HEART DESIRES, THIS IS WHAT THIS COUNTRY IS ALL ABOUT, IF NOT VOTING IS YOUR DECISION THEN SO BE IT, YOU ARE STILL ONE OF MY FAVORITES!!!!!!
My girl! I agree with you so much! What has really annoyed me is the politics on the radios from TOm Joyner and Michael Baisden! They are pretty much telling black folks to vote for Obama just because he is black! If a white radio host tell white folks to vote for Mccain just because he is white all hell would break loose! I'm just seriously sad that this is the most important election of my time so far and I might miss it!
My friend - women who came before us fought for us to have a chance to vote, to have a say in our own futures. You educate yourself and you vote for the person YOU believe will do the best job. Skin color and gender some second. I'm so light skinned I'm practically a damn ghost, but that doesn't mean I'm supporting McCain. I'm a woman, but that doesn't mean I voted for Hillary.
BUT I VOTE because I will not stand by and watch as others make these important decisions without me!!! Don't take that right for granted - yes, voting is a RIGHT for us, but it wasn't for our great grandmothers.
Take what you know into that polling booth in November, and vote the way your head and heart tell you to. Not the way others believe you should :) If everyone felt their vote didn't count, you know what would happen, don't you?! Jackasses like GW end up in the White House! Eeek!
HAts off to you for your integrity. I wish we could CLONE YOU.
I still hope you will all read, and watch the debates and make a rational decision regardless of all the hype surrounding both of them, racial, gender,age, haircut, shoe size, etc, and participate in the election process.
You're not the only one not voting.
I appreciate your candor. While I am choosing to vote, somewhat reluctantly, I appreciate people like you who have taken the time to really look into this race instead of just going with a nonchalant, non-educated approach. I think the world would be better off if people would take half the time to consider things that you have.
Girl I stand behind you! If you feel you want to sit this one out then that is what you should do...No one can force you to vote ( but you know that ) I never usually even respond to post about elections simply because it's usually DRAMA...Something I try very hard to say away from...
We all can't agree on everything...So my mouth ( or in this case my fingers ) keep my opinions to myself about the election...
But your specail..I had to comment and say SOMETHING....
I agree with every one's response to your post baby girl...It is our right and privilege to vote. I appreciate your HEART in this matter. I too, am having a hard time deciding whether to vote...NOT because of the race thing but as a matter of conscience.
I'm wrestling with the fact we still have the option to "PRETEND" to vote...I like you, understand the electoral vote...HATE IT...but that's what we've got so we have to deal with it...but I still want to exercise my RIGHT to vote!! It's one of the few rights nobody is messing with right now...so I'm looking at an independent.
People tell me I'm "THROWING" my vote away cause it's going to be Barrack or McCain...okay, that may be true...but I HAVE to be TRUE to myself and vote with my CONSCIENCE...not because I may or may not be throwing my vote. I wish more people would get off of PARTY LINES and vote for the BEST candidate...not a dang PARTY!! Then MAYBE the BEST man or woman would WIN!!
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I cannot agree with you more. Right now I'm in limbo...do I vote or do I not vote? I would hate to vote for someone based on the fact that they look like me. Nothing personal against the man, but I have never felt comfortable about giving him my vote.
I also agree about the process of the electroral college. For whatever reason, we are lead to believe that our vote counts when in reality, it doesn't. I remember finding this out in high school and I was greatly disappointed that my vote didn't matter. I have tried to school others about it, but they choose to believe the media that they're vote counts. Let's be real, unless you a part of the electoral college, getting up early in the morning, standing in long lines, possibly in bad weather and being late for work just isn't worth it, because it doesn't matter.
Although, I'm not that old, and after the Jesse Jackson saga in the 80's, I didn't think I would see this day come either, but again, I can't just cast a vote simply because of the color of the skin.
mrslourob Aug. 29, 2008 at 2:44 PM