Stand up for your right to voter apathy. Commence with ignorance to the Nth degree.

Seriously, it's been bothering me lately that the rigidity of party politics itself seems to generate indifference in political intrests. Rather than being able to support <U>ideas</U> and views held by similar groups of people, voters are coerced into giving support to a person (often an aging white male). When noone is representative of the motivations that would bring many people out to vote, they vote along 'party lines' for the 'lesser evil'. It has become increasingly frustrating to have an informed political discussion with my peers (not to insinuate incompetance on their part, but rather, a lack of political understanding in general, across the board). ~Why is this?

[ 03-09-2004, 08:16 AM: Message edited by: ryaldin ]

IMO political apathy had spread widely because people have become disappointed in nearly all of the political parties. And because of this they shall not go to vote because each of the parties has something which they do not like. It is because of this that in France the extreme right was able to beat out the socialists in the elections out of the second round.

It seems like the 'checks and balances' system should somehow extend to cover the rediculous campaign promises made by elected officials. Of course, then, "Read my lips: No new taxes!" would become a legally binding document... ;)

Methinks voters sometimes overestimates a politicians power. He (or she) can't just wave a magical wand to shape things exactly as he wants it, he often have to negotiate with his collegues to make anything at all happen. Note, that when a politician is campaigning he say that if we vote for him, he will work to make this and that happen, he doesn't say that it actually WILL happen.

Something I've also noticed sometimes is that some people get pissed at the politicians if things aren't changed exactly as they want it. They fail to relize that they only constitute ONE vote.

[ 03-09-2004, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: Stratos ]

The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves. — Plato

Ho hum. How boring. :sleep:

Political apathy is universal. I recal an interviewer asking an older woman why she voted for Labour (Pvda). Her responce: "well, we're all laborers, aren't we?"