One person.

[OnyxCougar]

Is there really anything that one person can do to change "the way things are"?

Income taxes are illegal.
Congresspeople get stupidly huge retirements.
Electoral College.

What can one person do? What can 5 people do?

How can a single person change the way things are done?


I was thinking about voting and I've been reading on here, and I keep finding myself thinking, "Why should I give a SHIT?" And then I answer myself: "Because if you don't vote, you don't get to bitch."

Well, so what if I vote? It doesn't make one bit of difference, because even if the popular vote wins, the electoral college doesn't have to vote for that person.

So why bother?

What can I do do make a difference?

[elSicomoro]

If Florida 2000 didn't show you how every vote really does count, then you need professional help.

[Undertoad]

You may feel free to bitch even if you don't vote.

That old saw's just something somebody made up to make non-voters feel guilty.

Anyone is allowed to bitch. It's right there in the big Radar document.

[elSicomoro]

[Radar]It's not my document, you fucking idiot. Where do you get off saying that? It's your document, it's his document, it's all of ours. And I will spill my blood on it fighting for it. A Libertarian will be elected in my lifetime. Windows 2K is the greatest OS ever. Did I mention I'm an MCSE?[/Radar]

IIRC, there are some countries out there where voting is mandatory. Add a "none of the above" option on ballots, and I'd support mandatory voting wholeheartedly.

[Beestie]

What's wrong with the electoral college? It was designed by the founding fathers to keep big states from eating little states and it seems to be filling the charter.

[FileNotFound]

It's mandatory to vote in Australia.

[juju]

Originally posted by Beestie
What's wrong with the electoral college? It was designed by the founding fathers to keep big states from eating little states and it seems to be filling the charter.

It's not like we still have state patriotism on the level that it was back then. No one gives a crap what state you're from. It's more important to just be an American.

I mean, if Arkansas doesn't get as many votes, what are they going to do, secede from the Union?

[hot_pastrami]

Originally posted by OnyxCougar
What can one person do? What can 5 people do?

[snip]

What can I do do make a difference?

Well, the opertative word is "Do," isn't it? When one is confronted with any perceived problem, one must take some action, because talking about it, and complaining about it, are pretty ineffective most of the time. Talking about it can help to make other peope aware of the problem, but if nobody actually DOES anything, it's just that much more wind.

Have you written letters to your Congressperson, or started a letter-writing campaign? Have you created and publicized a website describing your views? Have you written a keenly-worded essay on the matter and submitted it for publication to various magazines/newspapers/websites? Have you created and publicized a group or club for people who share your views, and used the combined influence to spread your message? Have you done anything aside from talking about the perceived problem?

Like most people who desire change, you've probably done little of the above. It's a lot of work, and it draws a lot of attention. Some people like to coast in the "it's too late for revision, but too early for a revolution" mindset, some people don't like the risk involved with drawing attention to themselves, and some people don't feel strongly enough to make the time for the effort. There's lots of excuses not to DO anything to solve a problem.

What have I done? Little. I write an e-mail or letter to my Representatives when I feel strongly about something, but most of the time I just bitch about things. Right now, I don't feel strongly enough to do anything much more drastic than voting. But that's just me. And that's just now.

[hot_pastrami]

Originally posted by juju
It's not like we still have state patriotism on the level that it was back then. No one gives a crap what state you're from. It's more important to just be an American.

I mean, if Arkansas doesn't get as many votes, what are they going to do, secede from the Union?

Excellent point, sir. The Electoral College is a bit of an antiquated idea... it makes the election power unevenly spread amongst the people. Should a voter in Arkansas have more influence than a voter in California? The Electoral College does just that, by proxy. The presidential election in America isn't really democratic.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally posted by Undertoad
You may feel free to bitch even if you don't vote.

That old saw's just something somebody made up to make non-voters feel guilty.

Anyone is allowed to bitch. It's right there in the big Radar document.

Yes, but not to me.
ONYX- Vote early, vote often.

[Torrere]

Originally posted by sycamore
If Florida 2000 didn't show you how every vote really does count, then you need professional help.

The 2000 election showed me just how little every vote counts.

[elSicomoro]

How so?

[wolf]

Originally posted by Torrere
The 2000 election showed me just how little every vote counts.

No matter how many times they recount it ... he still won.

[Torrere]

Sixteen million people were almost evenly divided in who they wanted for President, with a margin of a few hundred. Florida's votes, which decided the vote of the nation and which are supposed to represent the will of (the people of) Florida, represented only half of the population.

I felt this more strongly perhaps because in my state, regardless of how you cast your vote, all of the votes of the state will be cast for the same contestant. We have the most lopsided ratio of Elephant and Donkey voters in the nation.

Well.. actually, the power of the President is largely based upon how much support they have amongst the public. Our opinions do matter in the grand scheme of things. Bush's lack of legitimacy (lack of a clear, uncontested public vote in his favor) hurt him until September 11th 2001, when the nation decided to support the President. The same story would have happened to Gore.

[BrianR]

I disagree. Had we been under the Gore administration, there would have been NO clear use of military force. I believe we would have gone to the UN and gotten another resolution condemning terrorism, a lot of hot air from the White House promising to ferret out and punish the evildoers (when in fact they are all already dead), a bunch of flag-waving from the public, then nothing. Just like when President Clinton launched a bunch of Tomahawk missiles at Iraq, causing little damage and (IIRC) only one death. BAH!

I for one am GLAD 9-11-01 happened under George Bush. I voted for him without reservation and will do so again. I think he's done a good job so far and compared to the Democratic ticket presented thus far, he'll do a better job again.

Terrorists must know that if they attack the USA, we will come after them no matter where they hide and no matter what they blow up. They will pay with their very lives for attacking us. This strategy works, witness the former USSR...once terrorists captured an airliner. The Russian Special FOrces stormed the plane and killed them all. No negotiations, no mercy. It's unfortunate that they also killed a few of the hostages, but that's war. And terrorism is a declaration of war on a nation by a faction, IMO.

Brian "gets off his soapbox for now" R