| Four Lies Since the election I've had some issues that have been rather bothersome. I've had these issues since even the last election, but this time I verbalized what I saw as the Four Lies you're told about the presidential election. Some count for other elections and some are presidential specific. Lie #1: Your vote counts. This is the definitely presidential specific. They say emphatically that you should use your voice and that you WILL be counted. But I say that's bullshit. It's a propaganda campaign to make people believe they are part of the system. But let's use a hypothetical situation: I live in Florida. Let's say I voted for Kerry in the last election. Bush won Florida by quite a bit. There are about 16,000,000 people in Florida. Since I don't have the numbers in front of me, let's say it was 10 million to 6 million (obviously made up since complete voting never even comes close). All of Florida's 25 electoral votes went to Bush, despite the fact that over one-third of the population didn't vote for him. So 66% of the people earned Bush 100% of the electoral points. So 33% of the population DID NOT COUNT. If your guy doesn't win your state, it doesn't matter how many people voted for him, your vote doesn't help him. Therefore, if your guy doesn't win, "your vote counts" is a lie. Lie #2: Every vote is equal. Obviously this is also tied up with the electoral point system. We can look at this two ways. One is similar to the last one, saying that 51% gives 100% of the electoral points. But the second is looking at multiple states. California has about 34 million people and a HUGE 54 electoral points. Rhode Island has about 1 million people and a measly 4 electoral points. But let's say California is won for Kerry 17,000,001 to 17,000,000 votes. That means he won by one vote. Let's say Bush wins Rhode Island 500,001 to 500,000. This means that he won by one vote. So despite the fact that the popular vote is a dead heat, Kerry would have an overbearing 50 point lead in the electoral college. How is that fair? That means that the one California vote is by far more important than the one Rhode Island vote. Obviously, every vote ISN'T equal. Lie #3: Voting is the best way to cause change/have your voice heard. Pure propaganda. I think most people (not in voting commercials) would agree that appearing in a voting booth is not as effective as other methods. Martin Luther King was not a great leader of change because he voted. Protesting, marching and being an activist help just as much if not more than voting. If you feel strongly for something, voting isn't gonna make it happen by itself. Voting is important and CAN create change, but not as effectively as they pretend it does. Lie #4: Your opinion matters. This is real easy to argue. Electing a president gives them free reign to do as they please. Regardless as to who it is, they are under no compunction to obey the promises they give out before they win. Since Bush won, he can basically do anything he wants all the way up until he's impeached and removed. Until that time, he's got complete control of the most powerful country in the world (and its military). So whatever your opinions are: liberal, conservative or otherwise, the president can do what he wants. On a similar note: the electoral college couldn't be a bigger sham. How is it that we allow the man that got the most votes to NOT be president. I bet most people don't even know how often this has happened. Polk, Taylor, Buchanan, Hayes, Garfield, Truman, and Kennedy were all elected without winning the popular vote in their lone term. Grover Cleveland and Bill Clinton were elected TWICE without winning EITHER popular vote. Lincoln, Nixon and Bush won one popular vote and not the other in their two terms. That's fourteen presidential terms when the president hadn't had the popular vote. I would bet not many people would have even suspected Clinton or Lincoln. - The Butch Lesbian |
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| 11/17/04 |
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| Riot Rinse Repeat. Bringing the nifty since 2002 |
| TM |
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