Until recently, I was starting to lose confidence in democracy. Not that I thought it was bad, but I wondered if it was the only way to run a country.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I voted for my Member of European Parliament (MEP). I walked into the polling station, gave them my name, picked up my card and walked to the booth. For all the political wrangling I'd seen over the last few weeks, the differing points of view, and the emotional blackmail leveled at me by a canvasser of the UK Independence Party (just because your brothers fought in Normandy doesn't make you the voice of reason, sir), it came down to me, on my own, my decision and one cross.
It's not the first time I've voted, but for a moment I thought, if I only get one vote, what kind of difference can I make among the millions of other people voting that day? I knew I was voting for a party that wouldn't win and for a moment it seemed pointless-- why didn't I vote for a party that at least stood a chance? But then, if I voted for another party, the members of that party wouldn't know that at least one person in the country thought they had a point. The public, too, would be one vote further from paying attention to what that party had to say.
Then it occurred to me that this is what people fought wars for: just one little vote per person, but one vote filled with the heart, soul and passion of a person invested in making the world a better place, aching for their belief in their cause to count for more than one vote. In that moment, I saw that "1 man; 1 vote" goes two ways-- yes, I only get one vote, and for as much as I believe it, my arrogant belief that I'm choosing the right thing for all of humanity is no more valid than someone else's wavering between 2 schools of thought. But to all the members of social networking sites such as Facebook, starting groups that say that the British National Party don't represent you, that's fine, but unfortunately, they do represent Britain. As galling as it is for the more liberal members of society, this wasn't a mistake or an oversight; this wasn't one person messing it up for everyone else-- thousands of people all over Britain firmly believe that an aggressive policy on immigration is the best thing for our economy.
While to many, this point of view seems like a tragic waste of a sociopolitical structure that people have died for, on the other hand THAT is why you should vote for a party you firmly believe in-- because you, with your 9-5 job (or not, if your job has been taken by an Eastern European worker) can personally take a stand against a wave of erstwhile fascism by taking your one vote and putting it into something you wholeheartedly believe in. Your vote isolates people with extremist, destructive points of view; it encourages people who seek peace and unity, and it reminds everyone, ourselves included, that we are all small cogs in a machine; individual blades of grass in a field; and that no matter how highly we value our opinions, we rely on people around us to join with us in a movement towards what is good and right.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I voted for my Member of European Parliament (MEP). I walked into the polling station, gave them my name, picked up my card and walked to the booth. For all the political wrangling I'd seen over the last few weeks, the differing points of view, and the emotional blackmail leveled at me by a canvasser of the UK Independence Party (just because your brothers fought in Normandy doesn't make you the voice of reason, sir), it came down to me, on my own, my decision and one cross.
It's not the first time I've voted, but for a moment I thought, if I only get one vote, what kind of difference can I make among the millions of other people voting that day? I knew I was voting for a party that wouldn't win and for a moment it seemed pointless-- why didn't I vote for a party that at least stood a chance? But then, if I voted for another party, the members of that party wouldn't know that at least one person in the country thought they had a point. The public, too, would be one vote further from paying attention to what that party had to say.
Then it occurred to me that this is what people fought wars for: just one little vote per person, but one vote filled with the heart, soul and passion of a person invested in making the world a better place, aching for their belief in their cause to count for more than one vote. In that moment, I saw that "1 man; 1 vote" goes two ways-- yes, I only get one vote, and for as much as I believe it, my arrogant belief that I'm choosing the right thing for all of humanity is no more valid than someone else's wavering between 2 schools of thought. But to all the members of social networking sites such as Facebook, starting groups that say that the British National Party don't represent you, that's fine, but unfortunately, they do represent Britain. As galling as it is for the more liberal members of society, this wasn't a mistake or an oversight; this wasn't one person messing it up for everyone else-- thousands of people all over Britain firmly believe that an aggressive policy on immigration is the best thing for our economy.
While to many, this point of view seems like a tragic waste of a sociopolitical structure that people have died for, on the other hand THAT is why you should vote for a party you firmly believe in-- because you, with your 9-5 job (or not, if your job has been taken by an Eastern European worker) can personally take a stand against a wave of erstwhile fascism by taking your one vote and putting it into something you wholeheartedly believe in. Your vote isolates people with extremist, destructive points of view; it encourages people who seek peace and unity, and it reminds everyone, ourselves included, that we are all small cogs in a machine; individual blades of grass in a field; and that no matter how highly we value our opinions, we rely on people around us to join with us in a movement towards what is good and right.
leib_:
exactly.
