elections... anyone vote?

[Benoit]

<blockquote>Then what does calling us lazy amount to?</blockquote><br>You misunderstood. Here's the part where the word came from:<br> <blockquote>Laziness, for example.</blockquote><br>It was not an accusation.<br> <blockquote>They don't contradict at all. The term "French Fry" is a misnomer.</blockquote><br>Since it's a misnomer, and you know it to be one, my point still stands.

[Gipper]

<blockquote><i>Originally posted by Benoit</i><br>Since it's a misnomer, and you know it to be one, my point still stands.<br></blockquote><p>I was merely pointing out that the given name was not proper from creation, and not out of my own mouth.

[LaconianShot]

<blockquote> I think it shows more disgust if you don't show up at all, to be honest with you</blockquote> <br>I think you're wrong. What are the traits most often associated with non-voters? Laziness, political complacency, and decadence to name a few. If you bother to go to the polls to cast your vote, spoiled ballot or no, it shows that you care enough to show your disgust, instead of your complacency by staying home. <br>As far as societies go, North America is about as decadent as it gets. Life expectancy is high, living conditions are good, most of us are supported throughout our lives. Is it so hard to go down to the polls and vote instead of watching one more episode of <i>The Simpsons</i>?

[Alis in Wonderland]

what if i did something non-decadent instead of voting? <br>i could work nights... then i would have to sleep in the day and so couldn't vote.<br>or i could do a job where everyone is on 24 hour call and always take over for someone else when the polling station is open, so they can go and vote.<br>what heroic sacrifice!<p>

[Gipper]

Here is a thought: What if we had to excersise <b>all</b> of the rights we are given? It is a right to own a gun, so we all should own a gun, right? What? No? But it's a right, so we have to excersise it according to your logic.

[Benoit]

<blockquote>what if i did something non-decadent instead of voting?</blockquote><br>No one would care, as that isn't stated at the polls.<br> <blockquote>Here is a thought: What if we had to excersise all of the rights we are given?</blockquote><br>Thank you for pulling that out of context. Use your brain next time.

[Gipper]

<blockquote><i>Originally posted by Benoit</i><br>Thank you for pulling that out of context. Use your brain next time.<br></blockquote><p>One, I didn't pull that out of context. Two, I must have used my brain since a.) The brain controls motor functions, necessary to type, and b.) My statment was thought out, coherent, and otherwise perfectly acceptable. Three, why don't you come up with a decent answer instead of attacking the statment?

[LaconianShot]

<blockquote>But it's a right, so we have to excersise it according to your logic.</blockquote> <br>That was your logic in a hypothetical situation, not mine. And if you need further convincing that your logic is flawed, then consider this: which right is Democracy formed upon? I'll give you a hint... it starts with a "v".

[Gipper]

<blockquote>which right is Democracy formed upon? I'll give you a hint... it starts with a "v".</blockquote> <p>And which right is this part of the First Amendment of the US Constitution formed on?<p> <blockquote>Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech...</blockquote> <p>The right to speak freely, of course; that much should be obvious. but also given in the right is the right to <i>not</i> speak. The same principal applies to any right given to you in that you should not be forced to excersise it.

[LaconianShot]

<blockquote>but also given in the right is the right to not speak.</blockquote> <br>One would say that's a matter of interpretation, and also that such a belief is selfish, especially in light of such an absence of that right in communist countries.

[Dorrinal Blackmantle]

Aside: Benoit lives to attack the Straw Man.<p>What you're missing out on is liberty. Whenever you mandate something you remove choice from the people, which is wrong. One of the hallmarks of Democracy is the freedom that the people benefit from. Forcing people to vote runs counter to the process you promote - it's a catch-22.

[Malakai]

I find it sad that Americans don't even read the very documents that stand as the foundation of the United States. The path to fair voting could not have been more well-established in a country. From Amendment XIV to XXVI voting has developed into what it is now - a way for every eligible U.S. citizen to cast a vote to make his/her voice heard in electing the president of its country.<br>People say that the system is flawed because of the electoral college, but if the citizens would vote as it is their democratic duty and the intent of the Bill of Rights, the voice of the people would be clearly manifested at every choosing of a new leadership. The electoral college is not to blame nor is the government, for in the first place power was given to the people to choose that government.<br>Now the whole is corrupted and the citizens, instead of utilizing the contitutional power that is invested in them and correcting the very problem which they lament over daily, have become apathetic to the very cause that their forefathers fought and bled over to assure securiry, peace, and freedom for the future generations.<p>God bless the U.S.A., because no one else is bothering to.<br><p>[size=small][Edit by Malakai on [TIME]1115742782[/TIME]][/size]