Many of you know I’ve published a few shoddy articles on why you shouldn’t vote. Not simply because it’s a religious ritual of the state, which it is, but also due to our direct complicity that occurs when we put yet another killer in office.
“But if you don’t vote, then you’re just as complicit as if you did vote!!” screams the person who thinks I should have voted for their political savior.
Nope. Nada. Nyet. Or, to quote NOFX, “You’re wrong.”
And now, right on time, I’m hearing a number of my so-called theologically-inclined friends (“Why, they even have degrees in theology!” he said with a grin) say, “Well, he kills less people than republicans.” Or, “At least he doesn’t try to hide it.”
So, that’s an achievement these days? Jesus, the bar is set so low.
How much less interesting can we get?
To be honest, I’ve occasionally hoped that what informed our decision to vote (or to not vote) was predicated on something a little more than, “Well, this person will murder less people than this other one.”
Such a triumph!
You know, it’s that whole Nieburhian lesser-than-two-evils inanity that owns our imaginations. Basically what Christians are saying when they get caught in that trap is that Christ died so you can choose between the lesser of two evils.
Well done, Jesus. Well done. You really accomplished something, didn’t you? (Personally, I was hoping for a little more, but you take what you can get, I guess.)
Best of times, guys. Best of times.
So here is a lovely reason or two, written by Conor Friedersdorf (you can also jump to Chomsky on a similar subject), for why I am more than hesitant to help you put your more ‘tolerant, progressive, and, oh-so-thoroughly-social-justice-minded’ messiah in office:
Why I Refuse to Vote for Barack Obama
Did you read it? Good. Or, not. Perhaps, those reasons are insignificant to you. Maybe they miss the boat. Or, maybe, Romney is just so bad that none of this really matters.
Maybe.
And, again, this is certainly not an argument for why anyone should vote for ol’ misogynistic Mitt; it’s just an exercise in how easy it is for one cult to miss the point while condemning the other cult (I use the word ‘cult’ in the richest, most religious sense of the term–that which you’re willing to kill and die for). Of course, the same thing happened with Curly Bill C. That man murdered countless human beings–I think they call it ‘sanctions’–oh, but what a saint.
It takes so little when you’re Ceasar.
Refusing to vote for Obama does not mean for voting for Romney, it simply means refusing to accept ‘the way the world is’.
And it also means that ‘this too shall pass’.
I hope.