So I have noticed this sort of mentality lately:
Go Vote! It's your duty! You have to go vote!
We see this sort of thing every four years. Hollywood stars, for example, all come out of the woodwork and read from a script and act like they give a rat's ass. Matt Damon tells you to vote. Jessica Alba tells you to vote. Leonardo DiCaprio tells you that if you don't vote, he no longer knows you.
Sure thing, Leo. I forgot we were such pals.
Anyway, besides the apparent idiot nature of Hollywood pretending to care, normal Americans do this sort of thing as well. That's fine - I have no problem with either of them telling me to be involved. There is this apparent double standard happening though - you are told by many to go vote and to do your duty - only if you vote for the candidate they want you to vote for. I have buddies go on and on about how I should make sure I am voting, and then when they find out I am not voting for the candidate they desire, they throw a hissy fit.
In a matter of seconds, I go (in their eyes) from being a patriot to being a scumbag.
That, my friends, is a double standard.
If you want people to vote, fine. But you then have to understand that they may have different ideals than you, different goals, different aspirations. To some extent, you may have different ideas of what you percieve America to be. Now, don't get me wrong or twist my words, I think that this is one of the many great things about America - that we can have these distinctions. But don't get mad at me just because I don't feel the same way as you. You can't see me as a patriot one moment and praise the civic duty of voting only to call me a bastard because I am not voting for who you wish. Maybe I think your candidate sucks and I wish you weren't voting for him, but I will not knock you for at least taking an active part in voting.
Unless of course, you are voting because Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher told you to. Then you should just do all of America a favor and show up to the polls a day late, because let's be honest, voting "because GI Jane and her buddy, the guy from Punk'd told me so" means you probably aren't paying attention to world issues in the first place.
-The Rocker-
Monday, October 6, 2008
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The purpose of voting is to do your small part to help shape the world in a manner that you consider ideal. Failing that, the closest to your ideal that you can achieve with the candidates available. Point being, I think it's ridiculous anytime someone sees fit to harangue someone because of how they choose to vote. There's no point to voting if you're not going to vote for what you believe, even if it's not what someone else close to you believes.
Unrelated to this post, I expect to see the top image replaced with an image of banker Chris in a tophat and monocle, and rocker Chris with feathered hair ala glam rocker. That is all.
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