Your Vote Counts, But Does It Matter?
I’ll have to admit. When it came down to it, on election night, a part of me wanted Mitt Romney to win over Barack Obama. Does that mean I would have voted for him? No. There’s a big difference. I feel that I am accountable for who I vote for, so I never would vote for someone who doesn’t adhere to certain principles. At the same time, I recognized that perhaps the only thing our country had going for us was a change.
It was interesting to read all the early morning, early
afternoon comments from people on Election Day, declaring their pride in the
democratic process of each citizen having the ability to cast a vote. Most of
them had just returned from the polls, or were waiting in line and felt the
need to declare to the world through social media that they were performing
their civic duty. There is a sense of accomplishment when one does something
even this simple, when there is an understanding of the collective impact in
can have on a city, state, and nation.
Fast forward to later that evening and into the following
day and the tone of the voters, specifically those in the Romney camp, changed
significantly. No longer were their declarations of gratitude for living in a
free land where votes count, but grumblings of sketchy activities at the polls,
disappointment with results, and even apocalyptic fear of what the next four
years are to bring. It is interesting to note that there was no complaining
when suspect methods were used to secure the nomination for Romney, but let’s
not go there.
A recent article on Right
Side News was entitled “22 Signs That Voter Fraud Is Wildly Out Of Control And The Election Was A Sham”. The title speaks for itself and I would encourage
you to follow the link and read over the claims. Actually, a majority of the “signs”
are just statistical facts about the voting, there’s no claim involved. It’s an
absolute must read! I’m withholding my opinion on the matter, but assuming
these statistics and accompanied allegations are true, what does this mean for
your vote and mine? What good does our vote for the Presidential Election do,
if in the end, the victory goes to the politician that is chosen by the
invisible hand?
This scenario reminds me of playing games with my children.
Even before we start any competition, I know what the outcome is going to be.
Whether I win or lose, it doesn’t depend on what happens in the game, it
depends on my mood. If I’m in a giving and happy mood, I’ll let my kids win. If
I’m playing soccer against one of my boys who has been a pain lately, I might
want to win. The point is, I control the outcome from the beginning. My kids
give all their effort, do all they can, even feel like they have control, but
if I want to win, I will win in the end. I might let them score a few goals, I
might even let them be ahead the whole game, but if in the end I want to win, I
end up winning.
This isn’t a post about my soccer skills, it’s an attempt to
truthfully reflect upon the state of our country and consider whether it’s a
nation “of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Are we in control of
these elections as we want to believe? Does our vote really count? It might be
that our votes count, but if fraud is truly a part of the election process, I
would suggest that our vote doesn’t really matter.
No one wants to be a cynic. No one wants to acknowledge the
bad in people, nor the fact that this minority might be in charge of the whole
game. The fact is, our country is full of wonderful citizens who are honest,
God-fearing, freedom-loving people. Believing and accepting this fact does not
preclude us from divulging the bad – quite the opposite ; it places upon us the
responsibility of raising our voices loud and clear to defend freedom and
integrity.
Labels: election, Obama, president, Romney, voter fraud
posted by Ben Arkell @ 4:01 PM
4 Comments:
I'd like to think that our votes have the potential to count. The 'minority' chooses the candidates they want because there aren't enough of us voters holding them accountable. If they see that 45% of the country doesn't care, they're going to act accordingly. (and put their money behind both guys, just in case.) All of these voter fraud things wouldn't be relevant if enough people got out there. It's our responsibility, and when it's bad it's also our fault. There are 200 million of us and only what, not even 1000 of them. Good odds that we aren't taking advantage of.
I have conflicting feelings. When I read articles of fraud like this, it makes me wonder if what is going to happen is going to happen no matter what. They way Bush one is 2004 and now this debacle in 2012, it's hard to be optimistic about the transparency and trustworthiness of the system.
Thanks for your thoughts Ben. I think this goes way past voter fraud, this happened to the Nephites, but unfortunately we the people of the United States have made the choice to go down the wrong path. Nephi 46: 8-10
Thus we see how quick the children of men do forget the Lord their God, yea, how quick to do iniquity, and to be led away by the evil one.
Yea, and we also see the great wickedness one very wicked man can cause to take place among the children of men.
Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words, that he led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to destroy the church of God, and to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted unto them, or which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land for the righteous’ sake.
I love this country, but the sad thing is this is what the majority of people have voted for. Unfortunately for us I don't see Captain Moroni coming through the doors anytime soon to help the people see how vital our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children are.
I agree, this is a much bigger issue. I think it's going to take all of using being a little like Captain Moroni to wake up the nation to what is happening to our freedoms. Thanks for the comment.
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