Cogitata de orbis - Voting – More powerful than you think…. If

… you consider that every dollar you spend is a ballot– And that is the vote that drives change in today’s world.

How about haanging chads, do you remember that nonsense? Can you recall the value of a vote in that election?

November 8, 2016
Did you vote, or did you c*ckblock?

I know it is slightly inappropriate, just a stab at levity with a modern term for what voting for the lesser of two evils essentially is. Especially in a battleground state


Voting is empowering, even when who you have to vote for is disempowering.

Or did you vote your conscience and go Green, or write in good ol’ Bernie as a way of making a statement?

So why do only 58% of (eligible) Americans vote? Is it because the vote is underpowered, because there is no real value? Or because the candidates don’t actually discuss what voters care about?

I do vote; I am registered with the Green Party. And I must say, it takes a significant amount of my time to get out and vote – Time I pay for with My PTO hours. 

Sometimes I think why bother? I’m not even a drop in the bucket, and even if I was – Someone might tell me my drop was contaminated, and is being disregarded for it’s hanging chad.

I have a friend who inspired me to vote many years ago, his passion wasn’t for politics, it was for something inherently American. “The right to vote”

Something that once denied to women – It seems unthinkable 19th amendment

My friend essentially said, “You give up your right to complain when you choose not to exercise your right to vote” (so “Belt up” was what was unsaid)

I pondered that, and something definitely resonated within me, and I voted that year (Perot) - I know seems crazy now. But I still think he would have transformed our country. He sunk his own ship when he told America – You might have to pay $5/per gallon of gas for 4 years – But on the back end it would be worth it. I’m no economist but his ‘farm cuts’ sure didn’t go over well in the breadbasket of America. This was before the insanity that is now a GMO battleground.

(I digress)

Getting back to the power of your voting dollar. In the last decade, especially the last 5 years, manufacturing, Marketing and products grow where the surge of dollars go – It is trend/analysis driven.

Cars – The SUV craze gave way to the sub-compact race – Funny it coincided with a spike in gas prices – We were paying just shy of $5/gallon…. Hmmm, Mr. Perot could have been onto something back in the nineties.

That same year – Cash for clunkers! Big fan! I was one of the few that cashed in! I loved my (paid off) 1995 Nissan Pathfinder SE. Except at the pump! It was well maintained, but by 2009 it actually clunked.

(Noting that the clunker programs “shred” vs. “recycle” back-end planning turned out to offset the intended environmental impact)

BUT – It was a great idea, and GREAT for me! I still have my 2009 Honda fit. The money I saved on maintenance, gas (and tires) more than offset having a car payment.I will never pay another penny more than necessary for petrol as long as I live. I am not working to spend my earned dollar to make a sheik or oil baron obscenely wealthy.

The flip-side is I drive a hamster car; yes the horn sounds like the ‘meep-meep’ from a cartoon roadrunner. It’s a 5-speed and almost fun to drive. And with all those voting dollars going to buy compact cars, there are so many more options. And consequently changes to SUV design as a result, enter the crossover.

 Photo: Kia - Cuz' datz how i roll!

So vote as a citizen for your representatives – AND vote where you have real power… On what, or where you spend your greenbacks.

So did you vote – Or throw a c*ckblock in the November 2016 U.S. elections?
Did you go for a stronger sort of “up yours” objection statement?

Or… Did you show up and choose “Opt-out”? Yes – Really, it’s an option on the ballot. Maybe it’s some old-school thing, you know the politically correct way of making an objection statement based on the choice of candidates?

·   How about voting Green party  - Then your choice down the rest of the ballot– Maybe too neutral?
 

Better yet - how about voting “R” for POTUS, then “D” straight down the line. Now that sends a nice "FU" message to both major parties. Especially in this 2016 election.

I should note, It is true too it seems; as I hear citizens cast votes for one of these two major party representatives because there is somehow a belief they have true integrity, operate within the law, care about the environment and are actually “for the people”.

But does it matter? Does anyone listen or care?

·      I think not, I think money talks, and that is what is ultimately listened to, and what controls the outcome.

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