Im not voting...........

is that a bad decision on my part? __________________ In my personal opinion, yes it is. Here are four reasons to vote: Critical issues are at stake On Novenber 7, we will elect people who will make decisions that affect our lives. They will make decisions that affect our health care, our jobs, our taxes, our public safety, our schools, our roads, our water and air, our economic growth and our quality of life. Your vote matters. Another thing to consider is that while you may only have to deal with a candidate you dislike for four years, they make appoint Supreme Court justices of the same mindset that'll stick around for 30 years. Think about what decisions the Supreme Court handles, and now think about what candidate you want to appoint them. Voting is power The elderly vote more than any age group in the country and more than 35% of the federal budget is spent on programs for the elderly. People who vote get their voices heard - and their needs met. Lots of people near my age (18-25) often ask why politicians never talk about issues pertaining to them - the answer is simply because hardly any of the people vote. In the last election, less that 12% of eligible voters from 18-21 voted. Every vote counts! A small number of voters can make the difference in an election. In the 1960 presidential election, only one vote per precinct in four states made the difference that sent John Kennedy to the White House. Every election year in Rhode Island, races for state legislature and city council seats are won by fewer than 100 votes. Your vote matters! Voting is a right to be cherished Americans have risked - and lost - their lives to give every citizen the right to vote. You owe it to those people to act on what they've fought for. Do you know what a horrifying concept the idea of people CHOOSING not to vote is in countries where people aren't allowed to vote? I recently heard a woman from Liberia speak about how when the democratic government was overthrown, the military took away the right to vote for a leader. She fled here so that she could have a voice, a voice that many (more than 50% in the 1996 election) take for granted and choose not to use. While I think it's incredibly important to vote, in some ways an uninformed voter is just as bad as no voter at all. Listen to the candidates, go to their websites (and other third-party ones such as http://www.democracynet.com) and learn about the candidates and issues. Make an informed choice November 7th. VOTE! You can pledge to vote here. [Edited by Ben_Williams on 09-19-2000 at 03:43 PM] __________________ I feel they are going to pick who they want anyway, they just use us to see what we think about it. JUST MY OPINION, THOUGH. __________________ In a way, I don't blame you. What a pair of a pair(that's four) jerks that are running. If they posted the primaries in one weekend, we probably wouldn't have this problem of selecting losers. By the time the primaries got to my State, Pennsylvania, everything was just about locked up.But then, the powerful groups who influence big decisions want to make you think that you have a choice. Either way, their guy gets in. And they call our country a democracy! __________________ here's the deal. if you don't vote, you don't have ANY room to complain about the gov. So, either shutup completely, or get your lazy a$$ off the couch and vote. (but please, as Ben_Williams said, be an informed voter) (this comment is not directed at anyone in particular, just to US citizens in general) personally, I'm gonna vote, for what I believe to be the lesser of the two evils... I figure the country is going down the drain, and at most, all we can do is slow it down, not stop it. __________________ ...to candidates that support gun control, censorship and more Taxes/RedTape ;0) __________________ Don't choose not to vote just cause you're apathetic about the presidential election. On each ballot will be many state positions up for grabs like Treasurer, Attorney General, Senators, Governors, etc. There will also be many statewide ballot initiatives and even local initiatives, where your voice will be much stronger, given the smaller voter draw. Political apathy causes people to view our government as a big power play for one position. Our government is a series of checks and balances on national, state, and local levels, and local laws usually have more of a direct impact on your life (or they should, anyway). Your right to vote is a right to speak out on much more than just who you want to be president. __________________ http://www.areasontovote.com __________________ Personally I dont care who wins. For the simple fact there will still be poverty, homeless people, more laws and nothing happening to fix the ones we already have, more taxes for some reason or another. AND THEY ARE TO BUSY WORRYING ABOUT AND SPENDING MONEY OUTSIDE OF THE USA, WHEN WE HAVE PROBLEMS OF OUR OWN. Enough whining now.