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starswordc
Member Posts: 10,963 Arc User
in Ten Forward
Let me tell you a story. Back in November 1988 my mom was a little over eight months pregnant with me, but she went out to the polls anyway, stood in line for hours with people looking at her going, "This woman is going to pop any minute," and cast her ballot.
If she can do it eight months pregnant, so can you.
It is shameful that voter turnout is so low in the country that essentially invented the modern representative democracy, and it took two constitutional amendments, thousands of lawsuits, and thousands of lives to get there. But these days we're averaging around 50% turnout, and that's in presidential years: turnout for primary and municipal elections is consistently 25% or less.
Today, as we speak, there's municipal and state elections going on across the United States. If you've voted already, then congratulations for doing your part to make our democracy work.
If you haven't voted, then go to your local election board's website, find out if there's anything happening, then get your TRIBBLE over there and vote. You're running out of time: the polls typically close somewhere between 7:30 and 9 PM, so if you live on the East Coast you've still got over an hour if you leave now.
Vote early, vote often. And no, I don't give a damn who you vote for: vote independent, vote Democratic, vote Republican, vote Libertarian, vote Pirate (yes, that is a thing), I don't care, just get out there and vote. Because if you didn't make your voice heard to your government when you had the chance, then you've got no right to complain about what your government is doing.
If she can do it eight months pregnant, so can you.
It is shameful that voter turnout is so low in the country that essentially invented the modern representative democracy, and it took two constitutional amendments, thousands of lawsuits, and thousands of lives to get there. But these days we're averaging around 50% turnout, and that's in presidential years: turnout for primary and municipal elections is consistently 25% or less.
Today, as we speak, there's municipal and state elections going on across the United States. If you've voted already, then congratulations for doing your part to make our democracy work.
If you haven't voted, then go to your local election board's website, find out if there's anything happening, then get your TRIBBLE over there and vote. You're running out of time: the polls typically close somewhere between 7:30 and 9 PM, so if you live on the East Coast you've still got over an hour if you leave now.
Vote early, vote often. And no, I don't give a damn who you vote for: vote independent, vote Democratic, vote Republican, vote Libertarian, vote Pirate (yes, that is a thing), I don't care, just get out there and vote. Because if you didn't make your voice heard to your government when you had the chance, then you've got no right to complain about what your government is doing.
"Great War! / And I cannot take more! / Great tour! / I keep on marching on / I play the great score / There will be no encore / Great War! / The War to End All Wars"
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
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You obviously want people to vote, so I have to wonder why you would wait so late to give people this pep talk?
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Because I only got home from work at 5:30 or so.
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
Right. But what I really mean is, you could have posted this yesterday. Or last week. I'm just curious why, since you obviously want people to vote enough to post a thread like this, you would wait until the actual last day to do it. And to be clear, I'm not criticizing you, I am genuinely curious about your thought process on this.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
And with anyone that takes strong exception to the message, There are some who actually coined the term "Vote or die". Obviously emphasis on the word vote.
It was mostly just an impulse, TBH. I just woke up with a bug up my TRIBBLE about it this morning, but I didn't have time before I left for work and I can't get my phone to log back into the forums.
Unfortunately, I don't live within city limits so I'm not allowed to vote for town council, and my state does county and state elections during presidential years. This coming spring and fall, though, I'm all over early voting.
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
Thanks for the explanation. About your phone, I was having trouble too, but I found a solution. Go to the actual STO website and login there:
http://www.arcgames.com/en/games/star-trek-online
Then once you are logged in, click on the forums button there, and when it takes you to the forums you should still be logged in.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
^^ Amen!!
I've been saying this for years to my friends and family who refuse to vote. Still doesn't seem to sway them to vote, but it does get them to shut up when they are complaining about the government.....lol
And, yes, I voted this morning
Qapla'!
Co-Founder of TOS Veterans and TOS Qan Mang
A fair point. I got into an argument yesterday with some nutter who thought Donald Trump's position on one issue was the complete opposite of what it actually was. (Totally not interested in starting a discussion on specific candidates.)
I do at least try to make sure I'm actually voting for someone I agree with: party affiliation isn't always a guarantee.
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
anyways in before thread lock
It's not:
http://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1191393/perfect-world-entertainment-community-rules-and-policies
Search key word "political".
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Notice the last paragraph of the OP where I'm very specifically not telling people to vote one way or the other, because that would be a political discussion. I'm just reminding them to vote.
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
I almost made that exact same point in response to the post you quoted, but then I realized that voting itself is a political action and part of the political system. So yes, a discussion about voting is by definition a political discussion, even if you do not tell someone who you think they should vote for. Whether the mods choose to do anything about it is, of course, up to them.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Agreed with that. Taking part in voting is the one main way in which the general populace is given any real say in democratic systems.
That's why I always go cast my vote. (Not American, though.)
Toi'Va, Ti'vath, Toivia, Ty'Vris, Tia Vex, Toi'Virth: Add Tier 6 KDF Carrier and Raider.
Tae'Va, T'Vaya, To'Var, Tevra, T'Vira, To'Vrak: Give us Asylums for Romulans.
Don't make ARC mandatory! Keep it optional only!
You must vote, you don't want to hand victory to a bad candidate just because you are lazy.
In my country, people were pissed off because our government let us down, so people just didn't vote, our current government just won the elections not because they had more votes than usual, in fact they had the same number of votes as previous elections, they won because people didn't vote, they've got full control of the senate and congress with support from just 25% of the population, they could pass any law they wanted just because of that and they abused their power just to steal.
Our president is involved in a corruption scandal, so far 4 people were killed including the judge, do you want that for your country?
No? then VOTE, don't allow bad people to take control because you don't trust democracy anymore or because you are lazy or because you don't feel like voting, you must VOTE, whether your like it or not, USA is a major power and your government has influence all over the world, so it's not only your country you are TRIBBLE over if you don't vote, but other countries too, so VOTE.
Umm, yeah you do. Free speech (such as we have in the U.S.) is not dependent on voting. We have the right to complain regardless.
Rayzee
excellentawesome#4589
torgaddon101
raeat
This is very true. What people mean, though, is that if you do not vote, then you partially have yourself to blame if you do not like the outcome of elections. I say partially because the results obviously depend on many more people than you, and your singular vote probably didn't swing things either way. However, as you say, the constitution gives people the RIGHT to complain whether they voted or not. That being the case, when people say "if you don't vote then you don't have a right to complain", those people are actually being UN-patriotic.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
But seriously, every vote not cast is equivalent to a vote against the candidate that you might have voted for. If for example 50 thousand people who would have voted for Candidate X stayed home, and then Candidate Y wins by a margin of much less than 50 thousand, then the stay-at-home people have effectively elected the candidate whom they have opposed because they never cast their votes for X.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008