By Rob Meyne
- Feb. 22, 2024
- 5-min read
If you’re like us, you’ve probably heard a lot of folks expressing the usual quadrennial complaint that “both candidates suck.” That may be a tad inelegant, but you get the point.
Many surveys show a huge majority of voters wish we had better choices.
You can count me among them. I’d love to be able to pick between Thomas Jefferson and Abe Lincoln. Let me know when we can work that out.
There is, however, this thing called “reality,” and it says that, barring a miracle, one of the two major party candidates will be elected president. The only relevant decision a person needs to make is this: under which of these two candidates can we reasonably expect the nation to be better off?
There is a lot of talk about the “lesser of two evils.” If one wants to look at politics in that way, be our guest. The question we would offer to inform the discussion a bit is this: in what part of life are we not faced with alternatives that are the “lesser of two evils?” Put another way, what part of your life is perfect? (My wife is perfect, and please tell her I said so.)
Most of human existence involves choosing from among two or more options, and they are never perfect. That is the nature of life, and certainly of human beings. As long as politics involves people, our choices among candidates will be imperfect. Get used to it, get over it, and next time support better candidates.
For today, let’s get back to reality.
For those who want to sit this one out – to note vote, or to vote for a third-party candidate with no chance of winning – you need to ask yourself whether the future of the country is more important than casting some kind of protest by way of a wasted vote?
If you don’t vote, no one sits and cries. No one will beg you to reconsider. No one will write it down and say, “Mr. Jones in Topeka didn’t like the candidates, so we need to do better next time.”
In fact, by not voting, by not being involved, you are actually increasing the influence of those who ARE involved. Do you think the socialists, racists, crooks, and war mongers (add your favorite pejorative description here ______) are going to stay home because you do? Nonsense. When extremists see others sitting docilely, they are glad, not upset. When you don’t vote, you increase the impact of their vote.
It also doesn’t matter how much you may loathe each candidate. They can both be horrible, but that doesn’t mean they are equal. You may think Biden and Trump are pure evil, but they are not the same.
Presidents make decisions that affect all of us. And even if they are a dirtbag, they still affect us. By not voting you affect the outcome of the race. You make the votes of others (MAGA, socialist, hog, dog, or frog) more valuable.
We would encourage you to ask this: under which of the two people with a chance of winning the presidency did America do best? We have the unusual opportunity of choosing between two people who have both served as president. We know what happened to America under both.
If you like the way things are under Biden, go for it. If you liked things better under Trump, you know what to do.
Their track records could hardly be more different. Unless you just don’t value the same things as me, which is possible, we did much better under Trump.
Under Trump we were at peace; the economy was booming until Covid; unemployment was at record lows; inflation was low; crime was lower than today; fentanyl deaths were way lower than today; and the border wasn’t wide open.
Biden is actively using the DOJ and the FBI to harass his opponents, which Trump never did, and to suppress free speech, which Trump also did not do. We have gotten further evidence, just in the last week, from world-class reporters like Michael Shellenberger and Matt Taibi, that the Obama-Biden administration actually used the foreign intelligence agencies to spy on their political enemies and falsified documents to make it look like the Russians supported Trump. See here. That is a crime. Obama ordered it and Biden was in on it. Are we ok with that?
Under Trump, household purchasing power increased by about $6,000 a year. Under Biden it has declined by about $2,000. That, BTW, is why people say the economy sucks, even though Biden apologists claim it is doing well.
The list goes on. If you are unconcerned about government censorship, the weaponization of the DOJ, open borders, fentanyl deaths, inflation, and war, then maybe you’ll vote for Biden.
All the handwringing about how “We wish we had better choices,” or “All politicians are scum,” or “There’s nothing we can do” will not save a single person from having to go off to war, lower the price of a bottle of milk, protect our borders, or save America. Only you can do that. But you won’t do it by sitting on the sidelines.
There is a scene in Patton where the general is addressing troops. He talks about the upcoming battle that will be horrible and deadly. He adds, though, that years from now, when your grandchildren ask what you did in the war, you won’t have to say, “I shoveled shit in Louisiana.”
Ditto for this election year. If we lose the country, in spite of our best efforts, at least you won’t have to say, “I was too lazy, uninformed, discouraged, and afraid to do anything about it.”
Get involved. Volunteer. Work the polls. Knock on doors. If we don’t do these things in 2024, there is a good chance the next generation won’t even have the chance.
The future of the nation is at risk. We are called to do our best to save it. We don’t have the luxury of choosing not to be involved because we want to protest our choices.
