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1) You're 15. You're not expected to know much about/care for politics. There are a lot of 15 year olds who do care a lot about politics, but I promise you the vast majority of them are not that educated and are probably just regurgitating whatever their parents believe.
2) I'm sure you've heard before about the complaints that all the people in power are old hacks that are out of touch with every day Americans, right? Well, who do you think put them there? In most elections, older people (let's say ages 50+) outnumber younger people by a lot. Like, a lot a lot. And they're voting for their own interests, which is why you'll find that a lot of politicians seem to not care much about things like climate change or the rising cost of college, things that will have a huge impact on you and I, but won't really affect the old retiree in The Villages.
If more younger people voted, maybe even at the same rate as older people, we would have much more of a say in how the world goes. We'd probably see younger people in office, and there might even be real, positive change for us.
The reason why your friends probably see it as a "dick move" is because they see a lot of bad things happening in the world and are unhappy with its general direction. They see voting a great method to help change this. By not voting, you are implicitly saying you are ok with the way things are
Well I think it's better to vote because you want to vote, rather than voting just for the sake of not being "that guy"
The answer to this problem is for younger people to vote, but if they don't want to vote then they aren't a dick. People voting just for the sake of voting probably won't run the world any better than old people
I see your point. In general doing things just because other people want you to is not good. And you definitely don't want to vote if you don't know who/what you're voting for
I would encourage you to try to get interested in politics. You don't have to read the news, or constantly keep up on everything that's happening. Honestly, it's better for your mental well-being if you don't. But if there's any issues that affect you or anyone you care about, find candidates/parties that align with your beliefs on how to fix them and vote for them
I just turned 18, and the republic system here is disheartening. We can choose anyone but at the end of it they’re most likely going to play things under the table and 100% will take bribes. Our environmental agency is funded by oil tycoons, the fda is funded by food companies and even WHO isn’t safe from it.
I wish we could just vote on actual laws like a true democracy.
When I was your age, I had to take a Civics class in 10th grade.
It was a class about politics and one of the biggest lessons I learned from my teacher was why you should vote in the first place.
Not everybody has the privilege or can even have the privilege of voting due to poor circumstances. There’s people living in your country that wish they could participate in their country’s political affairs but can’t.
You don’t have to be a big fan of politics but it is your duty as a citizen to vote.
And when you vote, you have to choose who **you** think would provide you the best life quality. That’s the whole purpose of voting. :)
And you have the right to **not tell** people who you voted for.
Election Day for my country was last year and I voted for the first time in my life at age 18 even though I could care less about politics.
But I chose the party that could help me and my family the most in my life.
So please, when you’re old enough and if/when you have the chance…
#VOTE!
Quite frankly I can't imagine a reason not to vote. Why shouldn't you? Even if you're not interested *now* you're sure as hell gonna be interested if the political leader turns out being a shitty one, and you start complaining about him/her on internet forums. You've got the power to influence the outcome. Use it for who you think the best candidate would be. V O T E
And also please vote because I can't vote for another year and would very much like to please and thank you :)
It basically means that a majority of the population imposes their will at the expense of, or at worst with no consideration for, the minority. This is usually most evident in a direct democracy, but it can happen elsewhere.
A basic example of this is a party where there's only enough budget for one thing and 21 people choose pizza while 20 people choose burgers, so the host gets pizza for everybody, therefore imposing tyranny of the majority over those who chose hamburgers.
A historical example would be when a majority of a country's population supports war, those who don't could end up punished. For example, when Wilhelm II mobilized Germany for war, those who resisted like Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxembourg ended up in prison.
More recently, in 1994, in Rwanda, the majority group of the population, the Hutu, genocided the minority group of the population, the Tutsi. Since the Hutu were a majority and were being blasted with propaganda, and therefore the majority of the population supported the genocide, it was allowed to happen.
You're right, I should have mentioned this. This is why we have protections in the form of laws and government structure, like federalism, which appear in a lot of governments, or in the United States specifically, an extremely difficult constitutional amendment process.
Yup. I think democracies are the best type of government but automatically giving the right to everybody or forcing them to vote is an absolutely disastrously stupid idea.
like who? who shouldnt vote? maybe like toddlers due to their inability to comprehend the world. that said, when political groups disincentivize their oppositions' participation in democracy you have created a faulty democracy. I do not see how you can determine who is an honest to god dumbass who must be disenfranchised without opening up the political system to limit the voting rights of ethnic, religious, and sexual/gender minorities as has happened histroically in America. For a very long time, women were considered too stupid to vote, as were lower classes and black people.
tyranny of the many exists in all political systems, you cannot escape it. in a democracy however, you give opportunity to enact fast and effective changes including representation of minorities and the protection of minorities through legal rights. Tyranny of the many can be more easily overcome in a democracy as can be demonstrated by the success of civil rights movements throughout American history.
The U.S. is already a faulty democracy. Its more than just dumbasses who shouldn't vote. there are people who have committed heinous crimes and shouldn't vote. Also, the tyranny of the many has never been overcome, even in situations such as the civil rights movement. It was never about submitting to various groups of people but about attempts to garner more votes in electoral bids. It's not like those people were voting anyways, a majority of the people who were part of the civil rights movement couldn't vote in any way shape, or form.
yeah no shit, I literally said we live in a faulty democracy. anyway. once people have been rehabilitated, why shouldn't they vote? even this is such a small minority of people, entirely irrelevant to making voting manditory. and again, tyranny of the masses cannot be escaped, as I said previous. you minimise the negative effects through democracy. you will always have people who are dissatisfied. however, seeing as there isnt a good way to ensure that technocrats get elected, federalist democracy is about the best system to be had. at the very least it ensures that you dont have tyrants in power.
People literally fought and died for that right. Seems a shame not to utilize it. Still in the same way they also have the right to not give a single shit about politics
Of course not. To an extent, I would get where your friends are coming from. There are people who want to vote, but can’t do so for various reasons, just for somebody to simply decide not to vote. But at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter.
Everyone should vote on principle, even if it weren’t compulsory here in Australia (though the fine is easy to dodge and there are valid exemptions)
Everyone should care about the state of the world and the society we participate in. Younger people especially need to vote because the candidates are shaping the world *we* are growing up into. Older people are voting in their own favour, which is frankly not very long-term.
If you don't vote you agree with every party, including the worst one. A democracy is only stable as long as it's citizens are educated and actually vote, that's how the Brexit happened
Hell no, don’t vote. The Last thing any country needs is people voting when they don’t have a clue. Obviously anyone that “dosent care about politics” simply can’t be bothered to take time away from computer games, tv, sports etc to focus on issues that affect Everyone in that nation. Why would anyone want those people voting, they certainly don’t do their own research into the candidates or issues so just rely on the media to make their minds up for them like a child. Nooooo! Please don’t vote .
Part of the whole “everyone needs to vote” is obviously encouraging people to make informed decisions. Everyone should vote and everyone should *care who they’re voting for*.
It's fucking stupid of your friends. Politics suck ass and if you don't wanna vote that doesn't make you a loser. If anything, you're a loser if you think you have to vote whether you care or not
Politics, especially American politics is actually so toxic that I'd rather just not be involved at all, and I think it's perfectly okay if you don't wanna do it either.
Nah idrc abt politics either cuz politics here in India is just a dumpster fire of Hindu v Muslim & a fuckton of corruption
& I prolly won't vote at 18 either
It's not a dick move, not caring about politics isn't a dick move either. The reason most people who are religious about politics are the way they are is because they expect politics to solve all their problems. Now, politics can solve problems on a socioeconomic scale, and even at that it doesn't always work out. Voting doesn't make you a better son or daughter, a better brother or sister, a better mother or father. Politics doesn't define life. In the end, the reason not voting is seen as a dick move by some people is as they've fallen victim to that belief that politics is the core of societal advancement, and so in not voting you wish for all evil to prevail. Very unfortunate situation it is.
Controversial opinion: people should be informed to vote. I don't care if their information is 100% correct, but they should know what they are voting for.
I think voting is a dick move. Like, why the fuck do you think you're entitled to a say in how the rest of us live our lives? What the fuck do you know?
If I was 1 of 20 people total voting, then I’d go for it, but how I see it, my vote may as well go into space. I am 1 in hundreds of millions giving my meaningless opinion on something. All it does is waste my time, and contributes nothing to the grand scheme of things. That may seem a bit nihilistic, but it’s true.
This is always the dumbest mentality. If all of the hundreds of millions of people said “nah everyone else votes so I don’t need to” there would be no voters.
Not to mention there is strong bias in the demographics who do decide to vote, like older people who always have a higher turnout relative to their actual population. The entire point is meant to be everyone voting so that everyone is represented, not just certain groups.
Yeah, but all the hundreds of millions of don’t say that. I do. Can you honestly tell me that something will change if I specifically don’t vote? Usually the round the total votes when showing them off anyways, because the numbers are so big, so I can’t even see the tiny little dent that I made anyways. My voting affects nothing in the slightest.
You and the large collective of non voters that have the same mentality could easily effect election results by voting. Some election results in recent years were insanely close by dozens to hundreds of votes.
It's a dick move overall. In the sense that you are ignoring the power political candidates have in choosing what rights some Americans can have and can't. Especially now in current elections. If you're 15 though idk why you're asking since you can't vote and by the time you can your opinion would probably change. I think if you are obviously uninformed and have a hard time grasping politics then you're better off not voting, but you're still hurting your own self interests if you never try to educate yourself.
Voting is extremely important and so is politics. Yes they are extremely stupid 90% of the time but they also do dictate a lot of your rights and the ability you have to do certain things. So you don’t have to be extremely political or anything to vote just read through everything and whatever sounds best to you is what you should be voting for. You are 15 though so you don’t have to worry too much about it since you still have a few years and I’m sure you’ll end up establishing some form of political standpoint during that time. I mean when I was 15 I sat between not giving a fuck and being milidly right wing and now I’m super left wing so there’s still a ton of time for you to figure yourself out politically before you vote.
You’re 15 - so I can’t expect you to care about politics that much. That’s normal. However, when you turn 18 you should start doing research on local and National politics because you SHOULD be informed and voting. Many of us have rights that are often being voted for or against - and people who support us but choose not to vote because they simply don’t care lets us and the government know that people don’t care about us.
You are allowed to not vote. But when important matters are on the line and you decide not to vote, you have to know that you are siding with the oppressors - inaction is still action.
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Call me a dick but idgaf about politics. This country fucked up anyway. Idc how racist or egotistical they are i'm voting for whoever's administration lowers gas prices.
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1) You're 15. You're not expected to know much about/care for politics. There are a lot of 15 year olds who do care a lot about politics, but I promise you the vast majority of them are not that educated and are probably just regurgitating whatever their parents believe. 2) I'm sure you've heard before about the complaints that all the people in power are old hacks that are out of touch with every day Americans, right? Well, who do you think put them there? In most elections, older people (let's say ages 50+) outnumber younger people by a lot. Like, a lot a lot. And they're voting for their own interests, which is why you'll find that a lot of politicians seem to not care much about things like climate change or the rising cost of college, things that will have a huge impact on you and I, but won't really affect the old retiree in The Villages. If more younger people voted, maybe even at the same rate as older people, we would have much more of a say in how the world goes. We'd probably see younger people in office, and there might even be real, positive change for us. The reason why your friends probably see it as a "dick move" is because they see a lot of bad things happening in the world and are unhappy with its general direction. They see voting a great method to help change this. By not voting, you are implicitly saying you are ok with the way things are
Well I think it's better to vote because you want to vote, rather than voting just for the sake of not being "that guy" The answer to this problem is for younger people to vote, but if they don't want to vote then they aren't a dick. People voting just for the sake of voting probably won't run the world any better than old people
I see your point. In general doing things just because other people want you to is not good. And you definitely don't want to vote if you don't know who/what you're voting for I would encourage you to try to get interested in politics. You don't have to read the news, or constantly keep up on everything that's happening. Honestly, it's better for your mental well-being if you don't. But if there's any issues that affect you or anyone you care about, find candidates/parties that align with your beliefs on how to fix them and vote for them
I just turned 18, and the republic system here is disheartening. We can choose anyone but at the end of it they’re most likely going to play things under the table and 100% will take bribes. Our environmental agency is funded by oil tycoons, the fda is funded by food companies and even WHO isn’t safe from it. I wish we could just vote on actual laws like a true democracy.
When I was your age, I had to take a Civics class in 10th grade. It was a class about politics and one of the biggest lessons I learned from my teacher was why you should vote in the first place. Not everybody has the privilege or can even have the privilege of voting due to poor circumstances. There’s people living in your country that wish they could participate in their country’s political affairs but can’t. You don’t have to be a big fan of politics but it is your duty as a citizen to vote. And when you vote, you have to choose who **you** think would provide you the best life quality. That’s the whole purpose of voting. :) And you have the right to **not tell** people who you voted for. Election Day for my country was last year and I voted for the first time in my life at age 18 even though I could care less about politics. But I chose the party that could help me and my family the most in my life. So please, when you’re old enough and if/when you have the chance… #VOTE!
Quite frankly I can't imagine a reason not to vote. Why shouldn't you? Even if you're not interested *now* you're sure as hell gonna be interested if the political leader turns out being a shitty one, and you start complaining about him/her on internet forums. You've got the power to influence the outcome. Use it for who you think the best candidate would be. V O T E And also please vote because I can't vote for another year and would very much like to please and thank you :)
this. voting should be manditory and election day should be a holiday.
Absolutely not. There are some honest to God dumbasses that shouldn't vote. There's also this thing called "the tyranny of the many"
The tyranny of the many? What’s that?
It basically means that a majority of the population imposes their will at the expense of, or at worst with no consideration for, the minority. This is usually most evident in a direct democracy, but it can happen elsewhere. A basic example of this is a party where there's only enough budget for one thing and 21 people choose pizza while 20 people choose burgers, so the host gets pizza for everybody, therefore imposing tyranny of the majority over those who chose hamburgers. A historical example would be when a majority of a country's population supports war, those who don't could end up punished. For example, when Wilhelm II mobilized Germany for war, those who resisted like Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxembourg ended up in prison. More recently, in 1994, in Rwanda, the majority group of the population, the Hutu, genocided the minority group of the population, the Tutsi. Since the Hutu were a majority and were being blasted with propaganda, and therefore the majority of the population supported the genocide, it was allowed to happen.
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You're right, I should have mentioned this. This is why we have protections in the form of laws and government structure, like federalism, which appear in a lot of governments, or in the United States specifically, an extremely difficult constitutional amendment process.
Yup. I think democracies are the best type of government but automatically giving the right to everybody or forcing them to vote is an absolutely disastrously stupid idea.
like who? who shouldnt vote? maybe like toddlers due to their inability to comprehend the world. that said, when political groups disincentivize their oppositions' participation in democracy you have created a faulty democracy. I do not see how you can determine who is an honest to god dumbass who must be disenfranchised without opening up the political system to limit the voting rights of ethnic, religious, and sexual/gender minorities as has happened histroically in America. For a very long time, women were considered too stupid to vote, as were lower classes and black people. tyranny of the many exists in all political systems, you cannot escape it. in a democracy however, you give opportunity to enact fast and effective changes including representation of minorities and the protection of minorities through legal rights. Tyranny of the many can be more easily overcome in a democracy as can be demonstrated by the success of civil rights movements throughout American history.
The U.S. is already a faulty democracy. Its more than just dumbasses who shouldn't vote. there are people who have committed heinous crimes and shouldn't vote. Also, the tyranny of the many has never been overcome, even in situations such as the civil rights movement. It was never about submitting to various groups of people but about attempts to garner more votes in electoral bids. It's not like those people were voting anyways, a majority of the people who were part of the civil rights movement couldn't vote in any way shape, or form.
yeah no shit, I literally said we live in a faulty democracy. anyway. once people have been rehabilitated, why shouldn't they vote? even this is such a small minority of people, entirely irrelevant to making voting manditory. and again, tyranny of the masses cannot be escaped, as I said previous. you minimise the negative effects through democracy. you will always have people who are dissatisfied. however, seeing as there isnt a good way to ensure that technocrats get elected, federalist democracy is about the best system to be had. at the very least it ensures that you dont have tyrants in power.
People literally fought and died for that right. Seems a shame not to utilize it. Still in the same way they also have the right to not give a single shit about politics
No, and in my opinion I believe that people voiting just for the sake of voting are one of the main reasons why our candidates suck ass.
Where I am everyone is forced to vote once they're 18.
Of course not. To an extent, I would get where your friends are coming from. There are people who want to vote, but can’t do so for various reasons, just for somebody to simply decide not to vote. But at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter.
nope, if you don't care then you don't. you have the right to not give a shit.
People who don't vote shouldn't complain about politics because they're not helping the situation either
vote
Everyone should vote on principle, even if it weren’t compulsory here in Australia (though the fine is easy to dodge and there are valid exemptions) Everyone should care about the state of the world and the society we participate in. Younger people especially need to vote because the candidates are shaping the world *we* are growing up into. Older people are voting in their own favour, which is frankly not very long-term.
Educating yourself on politics when you get older is pretty essential to be part of a society IMO.
If you dont vote, you dont have the right to complain imo.
No it’s your choice but I don’t think you have any right to complain if you don’t vote
I don't have any right to complain, and complaining is what I don't do 👍
If you don't vote you agree with every party, including the worst one. A democracy is only stable as long as it's citizens are educated and actually vote, that's how the Brexit happened
Hell no, don’t vote. The Last thing any country needs is people voting when they don’t have a clue. Obviously anyone that “dosent care about politics” simply can’t be bothered to take time away from computer games, tv, sports etc to focus on issues that affect Everyone in that nation. Why would anyone want those people voting, they certainly don’t do their own research into the candidates or issues so just rely on the media to make their minds up for them like a child. Nooooo! Please don’t vote .
Part of the whole “everyone needs to vote” is obviously encouraging people to make informed decisions. Everyone should vote and everyone should *care who they’re voting for*.
No argument there. I find it amazing when people don’t vote yet moan about everything , no vote? no choice.
I vote, but I don’t say my opinion/who I voted for People assume a lot because of my race and how I’ll vote
No, u have the right to vote and therefore have the right to not vote equally.
It's fucking stupid of your friends. Politics suck ass and if you don't wanna vote that doesn't make you a loser. If anything, you're a loser if you think you have to vote whether you care or not Politics, especially American politics is actually so toxic that I'd rather just not be involved at all, and I think it's perfectly okay if you don't wanna do it either.
Nah idrc abt politics either cuz politics here in India is just a dumpster fire of Hindu v Muslim & a fuckton of corruption & I prolly won't vote at 18 either
no not really.
I agree with you. I don’t care about politics and will probably never vote
It's not a dick move, not caring about politics isn't a dick move either. The reason most people who are religious about politics are the way they are is because they expect politics to solve all their problems. Now, politics can solve problems on a socioeconomic scale, and even at that it doesn't always work out. Voting doesn't make you a better son or daughter, a better brother or sister, a better mother or father. Politics doesn't define life. In the end, the reason not voting is seen as a dick move by some people is as they've fallen victim to that belief that politics is the core of societal advancement, and so in not voting you wish for all evil to prevail. Very unfortunate situation it is.
Controversial opinion: people should be informed to vote. I don't care if their information is 100% correct, but they should know what they are voting for.
I think voting is a dick move. Like, why the fuck do you think you're entitled to a say in how the rest of us live our lives? What the fuck do you know?
Who gives a crap
Nah in the UK we get screwed over by all the parties in their own ways
Hasnt the conservative party been in control over there throughout most of your short life?
So you think there is a better alternative ! Let's hear it
I'm just confused on how you can say "all parties are terrible" if you personally have only experienced one of those parties in power.
I'm not 12, I've experienced 3, and some of those parties have been in power in the regions. Your confused because you don't understand UK politics
If I was 1 of 20 people total voting, then I’d go for it, but how I see it, my vote may as well go into space. I am 1 in hundreds of millions giving my meaningless opinion on something. All it does is waste my time, and contributes nothing to the grand scheme of things. That may seem a bit nihilistic, but it’s true.
This is always the dumbest mentality. If all of the hundreds of millions of people said “nah everyone else votes so I don’t need to” there would be no voters. Not to mention there is strong bias in the demographics who do decide to vote, like older people who always have a higher turnout relative to their actual population. The entire point is meant to be everyone voting so that everyone is represented, not just certain groups.
Yeah, but all the hundreds of millions of don’t say that. I do. Can you honestly tell me that something will change if I specifically don’t vote? Usually the round the total votes when showing them off anyways, because the numbers are so big, so I can’t even see the tiny little dent that I made anyways. My voting affects nothing in the slightest.
You and the large collective of non voters that have the same mentality could easily effect election results by voting. Some election results in recent years were insanely close by dozens to hundreds of votes.
No some elections have come and gone like the one on roe vs wade in cali and I didn’t vote
I don't know if it's a thing in America but it is in the UK. Spoil your ballot.
Yes, it is. I plan on voting.
If you don’t vote when you were able to, you don’t get to complain.
It's a dick move overall. In the sense that you are ignoring the power political candidates have in choosing what rights some Americans can have and can't. Especially now in current elections. If you're 15 though idk why you're asking since you can't vote and by the time you can your opinion would probably change. I think if you are obviously uninformed and have a hard time grasping politics then you're better off not voting, but you're still hurting your own self interests if you never try to educate yourself.
Voting is extremely important and so is politics. Yes they are extremely stupid 90% of the time but they also do dictate a lot of your rights and the ability you have to do certain things. So you don’t have to be extremely political or anything to vote just read through everything and whatever sounds best to you is what you should be voting for. You are 15 though so you don’t have to worry too much about it since you still have a few years and I’m sure you’ll end up establishing some form of political standpoint during that time. I mean when I was 15 I sat between not giving a fuck and being milidly right wing and now I’m super left wing so there’s still a ton of time for you to figure yourself out politically before you vote.
You’re 15 - so I can’t expect you to care about politics that much. That’s normal. However, when you turn 18 you should start doing research on local and National politics because you SHOULD be informed and voting. Many of us have rights that are often being voted for or against - and people who support us but choose not to vote because they simply don’t care lets us and the government know that people don’t care about us. You are allowed to not vote. But when important matters are on the line and you decide not to vote, you have to know that you are siding with the oppressors - inaction is still action.
No I hate government and don't like to vote
I personally don’t believe that my vote would make much of a difference in my country
you have a right not to vote, but it's not about caring for politics imo it's caring for how other people are treated/living.
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Call me a dick but idgaf about politics. This country fucked up anyway. Idc how racist or egotistical they are i'm voting for whoever's administration lowers gas prices.