Republican? Democrat? Libertarian? Green Party? As an American, how should I vote? Deciding who to vote for can sometimes be a daunting task, especially if you take the task seriously, and aren’t just beholden to one particular political party. Today, I want to help you decide how to vote, and specifically, how to never throw your vote away.
My Influence Growing Up
I grew up in a house where my father regularly told me, “Whatever you do, make sure you vote for the Republican of your choice.” And if there was more than one Republican on the ballot? Then it was my lucky day!
Generally speaking, I followed my fathers direction for a few years. But president Bush did some things that troubled me. As a result, while I supported Bush the first time around, I did not end up voting for him the second time.
And since then my support of Republican presidential candidates has been pretty spotty. I’ve yet to vote for a Democrat presidential candidate, but I don’t rule such out. As an Independent, I voted in the 2016 Democratic primary, but ended up ultimately voting Libertarian for president. For 2020, I currently don’t see anybody running for president that I support, but I remain open to hearing from everyone as they make their case.
Voting For Someone Who Represents YOU
So you might ask, what is my philosophy when it comes to voting?
It’s pretty simple really. I’ve decided whoever I vote for, I’m going to vote for the candidate that best represents me. And I think you should do the same.
You see, our form of government is ultimately a representative form of government. That means the leaders we elect should ultimately represent the will of the people that supported their election.
Our elected officials are individuals we ultimately appoint to govern on our behalf, and to do the things we would do if we were in office. When we elect someone to a political office, we ultimately elect them to go there in our place, as our representatives, governing as someone standing there on our behalf as our proxy.
How To Pick A Candidate
As a result, whenever I vote, I will NEVER vote a straight party ticket. I will only vote for the candidates that I find myself largely agreeable with, and who I trust would do what I would do if I were in government to do it.
And not only should they support the policies I believe in, but they should conduct themselves in an honorable way while in office, as they are my personal representative. While I recognize that no person is perfect and that I am voting for a politician and not the Pope, that doesn’t mean I should vote for individuals I recognize as fundamentally corrupt and ethically compromised.
Since politicians represent us and are governing on our behalf, their their character is just as important as their policy ideas. And while discerning the character of a candidate can be a difficult thing, especially since these are individuals we don’t know at a personal level, we should not turn a blind eye to any gross immorality that we might know about. Especially if the sins of that individual would impact their ability to govern with integrity. Our elected officials should be individuals who behave in a way that would not embarrass us, or be out of keeping with how we ourselves behave.
Don’t Waste Your Vote
As a result of embracing this voting philosophy, I am done doing things like voting for the lesser of two evils, and holding my nose as I vote. I’ve done it far too many times, and never want to do it again.
If an election comes down to choosing a scenario where we yet again have to choose between a Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, I would rather vote for a third party candidate that doesn’t have a shot at winning than to vote for a clown candidate just because they are popular and are more likely to win than someone I hate. Such means I might have to vote for someone in a smaller political party, or not voting at all.
But, isn’t voting third party just “throwing your vote away?” No! A thousand times no! Such is a lie from the pit of hell, and is one you should never repeat.
If you really want to throw your vote away, keep voting straight ticket, or voting for the lesser of two evils. Because in voting for such, you aren’t really voting for someone that really represents you, you are simply voting on which mob you want to join.
Such a mindset is morally bankrupt, negates your vote as an individual, and the opportunity to truly have your voice heard. It means you’ve made the choice to have your vote not really matter, and that you’ve resigned yourself to getting sucked up into a power vacuum in which nobody holding elected office ever really represents you.
You’ll be forever caught in a perpetual cycle of voting for the lesser of two evils and holding your nose when you vote. You are simply voting on what jersey color you like the most, and you really don’t have a say in how our country is governed since you aren’t voting for someone that represents you. So, if you really want your vote to count, and if you don’t want to throw it away, make sure you always vote for the person that best represents you.
Conclusion
And if that means voting for a third party candidate that is unlikely to win, or not voting at all, then sobeit. As far as I’m concerned, you are better off not voting at all than to vote for somebody that doesn’t truly represent you.
For that is ultimately the entire point of voting in a representative form of government– to vote for somebody who will best represent you! You have no business giving your support to someone that doesn’t represent you. Such negates the purpose in voting altogether, and is ethically dubious behavior.
Don’t waste something as sacred as your vote on someone that doesn’t truly represent you and what you ultimately stand for. Vote for someone that represents you.
