Americans don't vote because they don't think they need to.

I know that much has been made of the fact that Americans don't vote as much as citizens of other nations do. Even developing countries. There are theories about this, of course. The most popular is that Americans aren't as smart as we think we are and don't think much about who is running for any particular office, and aren't all that educated about the process anyway. Aren't educated in general.

That's probably all true, but it's not as bad as it sounds, and it's not the whole story.


The reason most Americans don't vote is not just because they/we don't know anything about the candidates/issues -- and we probably don't -- but because we think that it doesn't matter who gets elected. In any case, we think, the basic American life as we know it will continue, and for most of us, that's okay. The worst choice for President won't change things all that much, at least for the average citizen -- the one who may or may not vote. We may be mistaken about this, but I think it's how most of us look at elections.


Think about what it means to be an American: we have a guaranteed freedom of speech, and a freedom of religion, and a freedom of assembly (whatever that means) and all kinds of freedoms
of this or that.

In short, we take our freedoms for granted, and we know that no one who is elected to whatever office, even President, is going to take them away. Whoever is elected, from either party, our lives will continue the way they have for as long as we've been alive. No one will ever come into our house in the middle of the night and drag us away, throw us into prison, deprive us of all our rights. We're pretty much safe to go about our daily lives. And that's why we don't vote.

Of course there are nuances with every President or party elected to office -- higher taxes or more or less money spent on poor people, etc. -- but we in America know that we have a system of government that will keep any charismatic individual from taking control of the government. It ain't gonna happen. Not in America. No way.

Yes, it makes many of us complacent, and that's its intent. We Americans should always know that whoever we vote for, or don't vote for, isn't going to assume the total power of a tyrant. And that gives us the right to be nonchalant. Who cares who's elected? He/she won't impose military rule over us. He/she won't invade our homes, looking for traitors to "the state". He or she won't make us all assume one religion or risk death.

We don't vote as often as we should precisely because, as Americans, we know that no one who is elected to high office can, single-handedly or single-mindedly, make our lives a living hell. And we know it because our Founding Fathers (probably with help from their wives), put it into writing: our Constitution.

It's ironic that the most democratic nation on earth has one of the largest percentages of citizens who never vote -- for anyone or anything -- but, if you think about it, it's understandable. Most of us are okay with our lives and accept the minimal governmental intrusion that's required to keep the system running: e.g., the IRS looking into our finances. Most of us think that whoever is elected is going to be monitored, kept an eye on -- by Congress and the courts -- so that no one who seeks to do us all wrong will escape detection: sooner or later, the scofflaws will be caught.

So let's not lament the lack of voting in this country. Instead, let's chalk it up to a trust we all have in the system -- very old, very thought-out, very tested over the years -- that will detect and/or catch the occasional shyster who rises too high for his/her britches. We'll get you sooner or later. We, the system, the people, and those we elect -- of either party -- to safeguard our rights.

As Winston Churchill said, "Democracy is the worst form of government -- except for all the other ones."

Americans are lax in our support of democracy because we take it for granted. It's our strength.

But we must not let it also be our failing. Yes, we should vote, if just to keep the system going.
And we should think hard about who we are voting for. Even a proven system like our own can be perverted. Just because it hasn't happened yet doesn't mean that it can't be.

Nobody in Germany saw Hitler for what he was because nobody had seen anybody like him before, so they didn't recognize him until it was too late.

As someone else said, "The price of democracy is constant vigilance."

Don't vote, if you choose not to, but at your peril. And mine. And ours. Enough said.