If you log into Facebook very often you’ve probably been bombarded with relentless calls to action. Those kind souls in Silicon Valley seem to really care about democracy (or something else), and have been encouraging voting for weeks on end.
It’s probably good to remind people to register to vote. We all live busy lives and are prone to forget rare but important events (Men, this is your anniversary reminder. You’re welcome).
However, I also find the ongoing persistence of these reminders incredibly irritating. It’s not confined just to Facebook. Today’s culture in the United States treats voting as some kind of moral obligation that all of us must fulfill. I find that idea to be completely ridiculous, and in many cases actively harmful.
Have you been on social media? Have you witnessed the unending stream of nonsense, ignorance, and vitriol? Do you really want all of these people shaping the course of human events?
I think those questions can stand alone as an unassailable argument, but I’ll elaborate so my position on voting is made clear: You shouldn’t let people pressure you into voting, especially if you haven’t done much deep thinking about it.
What is Politics?
Politics is a complex arena, especially at the national level. It involves the intersection of many fields, like economics, history, morality, religion, science, law, and so on. Few, if any of us, could be considered experts in each of these fields.
The best we can do is take what we’ve learned and develop a coherent worldview that gives us a general idea of how the world works. From there we can use our vote to try to shape a better future based on our worldview. Every voter does this, whether they consciously recognize it or not.
What Motives Do Voters Have?
If people voted entirely out of pure self-interest, maybe I could see the appeal of encouraging everyone to vote. People don’t vote that way though.
Have you ever been in a political debate before? Everybody argues that implementing their ideas will be better for society as a whole, not just for themselves. People of all political stripes claim that some ideas may benefit them directly, but overall would be bad for society.
Self-interest certainly plays a role in who people decide to vote for, but it’s far from the only motivating factor.
The Problem of Careless Voting
This leads to a significant problem. By treating the right to vote as a golden calf to worship, we are rewarded with a very large group of people with vastly different levels of wisdom who all feel obligated to weigh in on the complex problems of the world.
Clearly, these people can’t all be correct about their prescriptions for the future. Some might even argue they all are wrong.
You wouldn’t encourage your friend to make an important life decision without first spending some time thinking about it deeply. Why would you encourage voting among people who normally aren’t very interested in thinking about the broad implications of policy decisions?
None of us should want close elections decided by people who voted based on a few click-bait articles they saw the week before the election, or because they were pressured by annoying friends who don’t know what they’re talking about.
If you have to constantly remind somebody to do something, it probably isn’t very important to them.
How We Should Treat Voting
We should treat the right to vote the same way we treat other rights granted to us by the US Constitution. Like any other right, it should be exercised responsibly.
We shouldn’t put such an emphasis on encouraging people to vote. Instead, we should be encouraging people to learn more about how the world works and to use that knowledge to take on new challenges in their own lives.
Read about those different fields and disciplines. Start a business. Learn a new skill. Volunteer in your community. Become friends with people who think differently than you. Travel somewhere new. If you become a more well-rounded person you will be better prepared to make decisions that affect the lives of other people.
Democracy is wonderful, but it is no safeguard against poor decision making.
If this tirade still didn’t convince you, I just have one request to make. When you encourage people to vote, you’re really encouraging them to vote for your preferred candidate, aren’t you? I’m cool with that, but at least be honest about it.
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