This morning on The Howard Stern Show Howard and co-host Robin Quivers were discussing the upcoming presidential election. They talked about voters who are “dyed-in-the-wool” hard-liners – people who always vote for “their” party’s candidate. Robin pointed out that voting is not like rooting for your favorite sports team. Unlike the Super Bowl, elections have real-world consequences. Put aside for a moment the fact that it is getting harder and harder to distinguish between the two major parties – both are for a bigger, more invasive, more expensive form of government. You shouldn’t vote for your party because they’re the home team, you like their mascot or they have your favorite player! I suspect that people follow one party blindly because it is a lot easier to be told who to vote for in any and every election than to do your own research and pay attention to politics. Once you pick a team to root for, you begin to see the other guys as the enemy. It is very difficult to remain objective about the Yankees when you root for the Red Sox. We all enjoy being “on” (or for) the winning team. We feel good when “our” club wins, but politics is not a game. Sure, it has a lot in common with sports – rivalries, controversy, winners and losers, but elections really do affect our lives. The 2000 presidential election was (controversially) decided by a few thousand votes according to some accounts. How could things be different if the other guy had won? Might we be better off?
We should always vote for the candidate who best represents our interests and the best interests of the country. To do any less is by definition unpatriotic. Yet idiots abound, walk the streets and even prosper. If you come in contact with a “party” guy or gal, ask him or her why they vote the party line. Many will tell you that their side is what America needs right now. Some will call attention to the minimal differences between the two parties’ philosophies. Others will say “Well, it sure beats that alternative” of being aligned with the other major party – as if there were no other choice. While you could argue their points to wit’s, you might want to try taking the high road once in a while. No matter what they say, tell them you always vote your conscience – not your team. If they tell you their party and their conscience are always on the same page, you did the best you could. The person is clearly delusional. Just back away - slowly.
If you want to cheer for a team so badly, you could root for the USA. We all do it during the Olympics, so why not do it at the polls? It is our home team, after all. If candidate X has done a poor job, or things have gone badly during X’s time in office, hold him or her responsible and vote for someone else. You don’t win when your candidate gets elected unless he or she does a good job. When politicians get elected and/or reelected for any reason other than their ability to do their job, we all stand to lose. The system fails. Finally, remember that while we may have a defacto two-party system in this country, you can always throw your vote away by casting it for a third-party candidate who truly represents your interests, rather than being the lesser of to evils. Oh, and if you “don’t really follow politics,” do us all a favor and DON’T REALLY VOTE! Just sit on the sideline and cheer. Thanks.
-JB
