Episodes
Thursday Oct 16, 2014
Leid Stories - Opting Out on Voting Is Also A Viable Political Choice - 10/16/14
Thursday Oct 16, 2014
Thursday Oct 16, 2014
We’re told time and again how important voting is, how it matters to maintaining “democracy.” We’re also told that not voting is tantamount to political heresy—an unpatriotic act that not only betrays the high ideals of good citizenship, but for many, also the hard-won gains of forebears who “won” the “right” to vote with their blood.
Leid Stories in a commentary says there’s another way to look at voting and that is, not voting. It’s not be confused with apathy or not caring about one’s role as a good citizen. Quite the opposite, it’s a dramatic and vigorous exercise of the checks-and-balances system in which citizens regulate the conduct of government.
Especially for groups for which voting is associated with unique histories of struggle, not voting in some circumstances can be especially strategic in compelling not only accountability in government, but in shoring up rights hard won.
Listeners contribute their thoughts on the issue.