This article was written exclusively for Steemit!
Today is voting day in California, and, just like every other election year, people in my newsfeed who usually post pictures of ice cream or silly videos of cats are now providing commentary about carrying out their civic duty.
“Vote or STFU” is a common sentiment. “If you don’t vote you can’t complain.”
But to quote George Carlin:
“Where’s the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent people, and they get into office and screw everything up, well, you are responsible for what they have done. You caused the problem. You voted them in. You have no right to complain.
“I, on the other hand, who did not vote — who, in fact, did not even leave the house on election day — am in no way responsible for what these people have done and have every right to complain as long as I want about the mess you created that I had nothing to do with.”
Some may argue that they personally haven’t voted for dishonest, incompetent politicians. They voted for the good guy. But if, by voting and hailing democracy as a superior system of governance, we accept that, collectively, “we are the government,” everyone who voted most certainly elected whoever won, whether they cast a ballot for them or whether they are pristine or corrupt (history shows that even if a candidate is good, they will either be stifled by the overwhelming cesspool of corruption or join it).
But I digress.
Today in California and on countless other days throughout election cycles around the country, people take pride in punching a hole or tapping a touch screen. Some even bother to read the voter pamphlets provided to them by their government. They’ll vote on policies that will inevitably infringe on the rights of their fellow humans, and they’ll believe they are doing what is best.
And that’s how democracy turns good people into controlling, borderline-narcissistic authoritarians.
From our youngest years in public schooling institutions, we are taught that our system of government makes us free — that voting is our mechanism for attaining and sustaining that freedom and that if a politician violates our trust or principles, we can simply vote them out! We, as individuals, have the right to implement our views through government, and it is a just, equitable system.
Yet the simple act of voting asserts the person casting their ballot believes they know what is best for others, and this belief is truly not their fault. Society insists this is the answer and claims it is the source of the people’s power. Voting is their voice, and they deserve to be heard (even if for generations, voting hasn’t changed any fundamental policies).
In many cases — though certainly not all — voters cannot even entertain the possibility that their views may not be correct or effective. There is evidence of this across social media, where people erupt into emotional tantrums when their political views are questioned, lashing out and calling people names if they object (chances are the person objecting is also emotional and simply advocating a different flavor of political control).
On this level, democracy — our institutional conditioning in favor of it — predisposes people to believe their views are so valuable, so correct, and so important that they should be able to impose them on others (even if they do not see that doing so requires forcing others to submit, because, again, these views are not their fault and they are not educated about the inherent monopoly on violence the government assumes).
But on a broader, more comprehensive level, the entire institution of democracy is an exercise in arrogance. Democracy, or “republicanism,” as many right-wing statists will correct it to, is now a several-hundred-year-old institution. In school, when we are taught civics, the implication is that this is the peak of humanity — that after generations of feudalism and monarchism, humans finally unlocked their potential and settled on representative government.
Even as anti-Trump voters decry the fact that he was elected president, they still insist the best mechanism for taking back their freedom is the same one that put him in power in the first place. Sure, some talk of changing the constitution or the electoral college, but there is no pervasive conversation about continuing the long-term historical evolution, which has been toward decentralization and freedom.
Nope, democracy is it! “We” have developed the best system on the planet and in human history, and we will continue to use it despite its failings from the outset! And all we have to do is vote once every few years!
What could be more arrogant (and lazy) than that?
All of this is to say that while I completely disagree with people who are bypassing their many opportunities to be a decent human being and help others voluntarily (the people in my feed posting have done little more than attend the Women’s March and March for Our Lives, if that), and while their arrogance truly makes me recoil, I also accept that they are victims of their programming, just like I once was.
Assuming those of us who no longer believe in statist programming are correct (I do try to check my beliefs and play devil’s advocate with myself), it is up to us to demonstrate a better way — a voluntary way. A way that is respectful of others’ needs and intentions and shows them that their goals are attainable without forcing them on others — that we can provide, that technology, community, and cooperation can ensure people’s needs are met, and in a far more efficient way than entrusting our rights and freedom to politicians who repeatedly trample them without improving our lives.
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I don't vote out of a belief that I am helping you, I vote in the off chance that I might be helping me.
That said, I agree with your assessment. Democracy generally and Representative Democracy as practiced in the US is getting more battered and abused every year. There are no good guys, there are at best bad guys that might do the right thing, even if by accident.
And, I do not know a better system. I can think of multiple changes that would improve ours, but in truth, I don't know one better. More people taking your path would go a long ways to making things better 'for us all'. I deeply agree that fundamental change has to come from the bottom up and won't be an initiative measure to vote on.
Thanks for a marvelous post. I appreciate it.
Thank you! Your comment calls to mind the sentiment of Lysander Spooner, who argued that many people vote as an act of defense out of fear that if someone who disagrees with them votes and wins, they will inevitably be oppressed or harmed by the party that gains power. It's sad that the current system forces people to fear each other and have to fight back through a corrupt institution. Agree that change has to come from the bottom up! :)
This was such a great article, thanks for sharing. It wasn't that long ago that I realized that political crusading is both counterproductive and a waste of time. Not only because it's a tyranny of the majority, but also because the rulers would never allow a liberty political movement to succeed. Trying to change it from the inside won't work:
The majority’s moral power makes individuals internally ashamed to contradict it, which in effect silences them, and this silencing culminates in a cessation of thinking.
-Alexis de Tocqueville, "Democracy in America" 1831
Excellent article. I would venture to say that the people who don't realize that political power is, in fact, controlling how the inherent violence of the state is used are responsible for this defect. It takes all of five seconds to realize that all legislation is backed, ultimately, by the threat of deadly force. Certainly cognitive dissonance will prevent most do-gooder political crusaders from making that final leap, but it's right there. In black and white. If they're exposed to it and they refuse to acknowledge the horrifying consequences of that fact, then they are entirely blameworthy.
Of course I could be overly harsh in that assessment. Just my two cents. At any rate, I'm with you in seeking better systems and methods to avoid and obviate democracy. I hope my children get to live in that world.
This is fantasitc. Thank you for distilling so many of my thoughts into a clear and concise article. Perfect.
I agree. Democracy is often hailed as the ultimate government, but I think it's based on a false premise...well, a few actually. For one, people assume that people can choose the best representative for themselves, despite this being proven incorrect time and again. We also often don't seem to understand that our representatives should be doing what is best for the people, not necessarily what is most popular. Representative democracy is just picking the most popular, not the candidate that is the best for the people.
Stoked to have stumbled upon your Steemit.