Editor,
I am responding to the letter by J.P. Farish in the Oct. 20 issue of the Daily Lobo. I must admit, on election day, one is tempted to settle down in front of the television with a delicious Frito pie, telling oneself that corrupt politicians will feel the wrath of the nonvoter's statement.
Nov. 7 brings mixed feelings and frustration for every thoughtful American. The choice between two servants to the politics of money is a difficult one - both candidates will be swayed by the interests of their campaign contributors, and both will make promises that they do not intend to keep. The two-party system is troubling, surely. In our dreary representational democracy - which is reminiscent of the Titanic at the moment - voting is still the best thing we've got.
What Farish and many others blinded by their ideals fail to see is that not voting isn't a statement. You make a statement when you participate in a protest or when you write to your legislators. Farish fails to see that the control of the many by the few thrives because of nonvoters' apathy and inaction. In the words of Farish, "If you want a say in modern politics, you have to choose between the Republicans and the Democrats." This is exactly what they want - stay unorganized, stay whiny.
Farish expects the act of not voting to function like a strike, but this is not the case.
Strikes work because they constrict the resources of a given institution so that the institution is forced to choose between collapsing and compromising. Striking against voting will not withhold a vital resource. It just renders you easier to ignore.
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I can't name one person in my age group who is honestly happy with the political climate that we find ourselves in. What do we - the new generation of voters - care about, and what do we want from our government? Our politicians do not represent us, but instead, our parents. Why is it that issues such as universal health care, the draft, the deficit, the Patriot Act and the desperate state of the environment are not being dealt with by Congress? Why do our candidates define themselves by their positions on Social Security, tax cuts and other baby-boomer concerns? It's simple - the baby boomers vote, and we don't. Appallingly, more people voted in American Idol than the last election.
If we want representation, we have to seize it. A voice is not something you are granted. A voice is given volume by its persistence and its refusal to shut up. The vote is the inch we have, so let's take a mile.
Finally, I ask Farish to consider the words of Plato: "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."
Carrie Leonard
UNM student
