--------------------------------------------------Preface----------------------------------------------------
My brother was recently shamed after stating his intention to not participate by "voting" in the 2016 election. Now mind you, he wasn't even responsible for bringing the topic up to begin with. But like many of us, we can't always avoid being put on the spot.
Predictably, he was given the tried and true line of "if you don't vote then you can't complain" nonsense. This False and oft repeated "truism" presents us at least two logical fallacies.
One, the fallacy of "false choices". That is, we have two choices, and to have a "say", we must therefore choose one. And two, the implication is that our only meaningful way of affecting our society is by participation in the "election process".
I would suggest that merely showing up to turn in a blank vote would satisfy the purpose intended by the ruling class. Just being seen at a "voting" location lends some sort of credibility to the system, at least from the vantage point of the average observer.
This is of course a nasty self-affirming and self-serving sort of dogma that the system has created for itself, only to be repeated by its subjects to each other throughout the ages.
My brother is always a cool customer, and also happens to be a lawyer. When confronted with this criticism, he didn't reply in a harsh or combative manner. On the contrary, he replied as follows:
Dear brother (if you read this), please forgive my paraphrasing, and any liberties I may have taken in recounting your demonstrative tale. But I think your point was well made regardless.--------------------------------------------The Great Bus Driver Election--------------------------------------------
Please imagine for a moment, a scenario whereby a crowd of people found itself voting on a bus driver. Among the group there were a wide range of opinions about where to go, and just how far to the right or the left it should go.
And so they held primaries and elected nominees to represent each party. After the nominees were in place, the two candidates debated and made promises about where they would take the crowd if elected. To make things easy, they dressed one candidate in a blue Driver uniform, and the other in a red Driver uniform.
During this process the crowd grew anxious over where they would be headed, and soon the upcoming election was the topic that dominated conversations and even caused some to become ill over the stress of the whole thing.
Finally, election day arrived and the bus riders went to the polls to cast their ballots. That evening, after carefully tabulating each vote, the results were announced. At last a Bus Driver had been duly elected, and the riders had spoken. The candidates gave their respective victory and concession speeches, and attempted to unify the crowd behind the outcome. They are in this bus together after all.
Soon thereafter, they all loaded the bus. Some were elated that their candidate had prevailed, while others were quite disappointed. But nevertheless, its a democracy after all, and their votes got counted.
So the blue/red uniformed driver climbed aboard and took his seat behind the wheel. Thankfully, the wall that divided the front of the bus and the passenger area was lined with televisions and 24/7 news coverage of the ride.
Soon there were debates and commentary on whether the driver was fulfilling his promises, and whether their situation was improving or getting worse. The voters were eagerly keeping a close eye on their favorite news outlets so they could stay informed and eventually hold the Driver's "feet to the fire" next time around.
But alas, what the passengers didn't realize, and could never see, was that their sad bus was being towed the whole time. In fact, the tow truck driver had his instructions well before any elections took place, and it mattered not who was elected. All that mattered was preserving the illusion of self-government.
So, tell me, does the passenger who refused to vote forfeit his right to complain?
It is in that spirit that I offer this post on this "election day" of 2016.
[Note: Because presidential "elections" are merely illusions of self-government, and inextricably connected to all things concerning media fakery, I considered the above short story appropriate on this day. Mods- if this belongs elsewhere then please feel free to move it accordingly.]