Trump? Biden? None of the above

When it comes to voting, many people see it as a way to use your voice, partake in democracy, do your civil duty and make a difference. 

To classical liberals, it is simply a way to keep people at bay while the government commits acts of injustice daily. Really, it is a way for people to force their beliefs on others, using the coercive tactics of the government.

Many will say that not voting, or voting for someone who has no chance of winning, is a vote for the worse of two evils. However, even if both candidates are “good,” the act of voting itself is immoral. 

It is essentially asking the government to force others to live a certain way because apparently the voter knows what’s best for everyone else. 

People shame others for not voting because “people died for your right to vote” and “it’s your civil duty to the country you live in,” but when you tell them who you voted for, they berate you, accuse you of being morally inept and an idiot and blame you for the state the country is in. 

It is a lose-lose situation. 

When it comes to election season, we should make our voting choices according to our conscience and not simply vote for who our peers, family, teachers and the media are pressuring us to vote for. 

In fact, choosing to not vote in the face of criticism might even be more “American” than following the crowd and casting a vote because it is taking the path you want, rather than the one others are pushing you toward. 

It is resistance against the system—rebellion in the name of individual choice.

This upcoming election is an example of how voting doesn’t inherently lead to a positive result. Most people would say that neither candidate is qualified to be the leader of the most powerful country on the planet, yet most are not doing anything about it. 

They simply vote for the lesser of two evils and feel good that they did their part to prevent the really awful candidate from being elected. They keep playing the game in hopes of things not getting too bad. 

But if you wait until things get “too bad,” it is too late. 

I am against voting because I don’t want you to have to live by what I think is best for you, because I don’t know you. I don’t want you to tell others what to do either, or to vote for someone else to do it. 

People should be able to do what they please, as long as it doesn’t forcibly infringe on the ability of others to live freely. Just like animal activists protest against keeping animals in captivity, we protest against keeping humans in the coercive bonds of the will of others.

Voting also normalizes ideas that allow an oppressive system to take hold. One of these ideas is that the president has and should have the power to change the fabric of the country with the stroke of a pen. 

The saying goes, “if it matters that much who becomes president, then the president has too much power”. 

Unfortunately, those in Washington, D.C., have a major impact on every aspect of life here in California. People cannot exist without the overbearing hand of others, who don’t even know them, interfering in their lives. We have no control over this, because whether a Democrat or Republican wins, they will simply execute their version of the more-government-control plan. 

Voting quite literally gives the power to those in office to rule over us.

With power comes responsibility, so not only is power given, but so is responsibility. Consciously or subconsciously, when we support the voting system, we are taking on less responsibility for the condition our country is in. 

Too many people vote just one day every four years then complain about those in charge for the other 1,460 days, without doing much to make things better themselves. 

They blame the president, the opposing political party, the person they argue with on FaceBook, immigrants, white people—virtually everyone else but themselves. Although the government is doing real things that harm and oppress us, focusing on what we can do ourselves is key. 

Taking ownership is empowering., Voting shifts power and responsibility away from citizens and instead toward those who make the rules and take our money.

Activists can holler at me all they want, but I will not partake in a system that strips people’s money, family, choices, freedom and life away from them every day, for the illusion that I am actually making a difference or doing my “civil duty.” 

If you keep playing the game, the game will go on. This game of complaining about the smaller issues, ignoring the bigger picture and acting as if voting will actually change things is one that will lead nowhere. No innovation comes out of it, no higher standard of living, no relief from poverty, no freedom. 

The only way to change the game is to get more people to realize that the system itself is flawed and to stop supporting it by participating in the endless cycle of government oppression. We as Americans need to take control by ignoring unjust laws and protecting each other when they come after those that do. 

We need to get to know our neighbors and focus on creating great communities rather than worrying about what people in another state are doing. We need to stop playing the race game because skin color doesn’t make someone more or less valuable. We should treat people based on their actions and merit, not in things they can’t control. 

This fall, it doesn’t matter which of the two candidates become president, what their intentions are, or if they’ve performed horrible actions in their personal lives. The outcome is still the same. 

America will continue playing this same game that robs us daily of our potential and blame it on the other boot, while the one they voted for is stomping on our throats until the next one does the same in the next four or eight years.