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Joseph Gordon-Levitt about voting for lesser of two evils (AMA)
- Thread starter Renekton
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Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
INB4 he lived in Florida during Bush v. Gore election.
Anyway, after this last week, I hope that the number of people whose 'convictions' would rather elect the maniac that is Donald Trump have reduced.
Anyway, after this last week, I hope that the number of people whose 'convictions' would rather elect the maniac that is Donald Trump have reduced.
CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls
Banned
I've chosen not to vote at all, although I still am considering casting a ballot for my local offices. My voice is irrelevant in this quagmire of bullshit that is the presidential election.
Everyone happy?
Everyone happy?
AngmarsKing701
Member
So he's saying vote for Trump.
Gotcha.
Gotcha.
TheSpoiler
Member
Edgy, but you could at least vote down the ballot.
thelatestmodel
Junior, please.
This is never a good idea, you should always vote
CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls
Banned
Even more edgy, lending my vote to candidates I don't trust nor care about just because I should always vote.
Explain to me what I get out of voting in an election like this?
Well it wouldn't have gone that way
Kerry would probably not have run with a Dem in the White House and think Obama wouldn't have ran after
Do everyone a favor and vote Clinton then.
Veritigo_X
Member
Sounds like he just got older and richer and became a sellout shill.
Transistor
Banned
I've always felt if you cant take the time to vote, you dont deserve the right to bitch about the thing you didn't bother to even attempt to change
IamDodongo
Member
Dude, go vote
ThatStupidLion
Gold Member
I choose not to vote as well.
in fact i dont think i've ever voted and I've lived through 4 elections so far.
FrontalMonk
Banned
If gore had been elected it would have been Gore->Gore->Obama. Kerry wouldn't have run against an incumbent. Otherwise I agree with you. That said, if it went Clinton->Clinton->Clinton's VP->Clinton's VP we probably would have gotten dem fatigue. And if we didn't by then, after 8 years of Obama, I doubt the american people would want another Clinton in office after 24 years straight of D presidents.
hammysaurusrex
Member
Good quote, I totally agree with him.
I certainly understand why people are frustrating by not getting the option to vote entirely in their self-interest and I have my own embarrassing stories from my freshman year of college about political views, but I don't actually take it as a legitimate criticism of the electoral process.
Nearly every single "other" demographic has always been forced to vote for the lesser of two evils - the one least likely to work against their self-interest, rather than an imaginary candidate that actually represents them and promotes their self-interest. In doing so, they have been forced to make compromises, sometimes severe ones, to their political ideals and identity. To be direct, I don't find an astounding amount of sympathy for white straight college-educated males who find themselves suddenly in the position most others have always been in.
I'd love to meet this imaginary candidate people have in mind who will come in on a horse and be the unequivocal best choice for a wide range of demographics and special interests such that no one is ever forced to make a political compromise with their vote. I've never met this candidate, and I doubt I ever will.
I certainly understand why people are frustrating by not getting the option to vote entirely in their self-interest and I have my own embarrassing stories from my freshman year of college about political views, but I don't actually take it as a legitimate criticism of the electoral process.
Nearly every single "other" demographic has always been forced to vote for the lesser of two evils - the one least likely to work against their self-interest, rather than an imaginary candidate that actually represents them and promotes their self-interest. In doing so, they have been forced to make compromises, sometimes severe ones, to their political ideals and identity. To be direct, I don't find an astounding amount of sympathy for white straight college-educated males who find themselves suddenly in the position most others have always been in.
I'd love to meet this imaginary candidate people have in mind who will come in on a horse and be the unequivocal best choice for a wide range of demographics and special interests such that no one is ever forced to make a political compromise with their vote. I've never met this candidate, and I doubt I ever will.
Obama is pretty young. I wouldn't have minded him chilling for eight years of Kerry who came in after eight years of Gore in my brightest timeline.
CapitalismSucks DonkeyBalls
Banned
Right on. Good thing you're not in charge!
The right to complain.
You're going to *get* one of them. If you think both are identical, then not voting is absolutely fine. If you don't think that, best try and influence things in whatever you believe is the best direction.
Do you think each option for the downticket ballot is identical?
(Fair's fair, I can understand apathy if you think there's no actual influence because you're in a region where one option is dominant, though. I'd still make a point of voting, though, because margins of victory aren't insignificant in themselves)
You don't trust or care for literally every candidate on your state's ballot?
Brianimaniac
Banned
For one, the candidate that gets elected is going to appoint one or more Supreme Court justices, and that will have a tangible effect on people's lives. Whether you don't have faith in the presidency of either candidate, if you think it doesn't matter which of those two people makes those appointments, you really need to pull your head out of your ass.
You're never going to have an ideal candidate in your lifetime. Ever. You could choose to get over it and do your part to minimize the damage.
WhateverItTakes
Banned
To be fair this is edgier than not voting, in a good way! You become the hero that sacrifices part of yiur ideals to contribute to something greater. A champion of progress over blind pride.
Please vote everyone, vote in a way that you can be sure will contribute to a better way of life for you and your fellow citizens.
You're only making your voice irrelevant by not voting.
I voted for Ron Paul in 2008, and Gary Johnson in 2012. Neither won, but my vote was not irrelevant. It showed that there are people listening to these other options that are there. That there is a desire for other candidate options.
When you speak, your voice is never irrelevant.
Perhaps you should be thinking what others will be getting out of an election like this.
excelsiorlef
Member
Joke right?
What you tell yourself: Nothing matters whowee!
The reality you try to ~lalala~ yourself away from: You've chosen to harm your country.
Disgusting.
ThatStupidLion
Gold Member
you get the right to complain about both candidates if you dont vote. its a win win.
No, everything is about me, myself, and I.
Melon Husk
Member
The Albatross
Member
I've made this appeal many times and I don't think I have the stamina to make it in full, but there are so many more things on the ballot than just Hillary and Trump. The presidential election might be the vote that has people talking the most on videogame forums, but it's the least consequential choice that you have on election day.
On election day, most people will have over a dozen things to vote for, from your local city council or local government elections, to state elections, and -- importantly -- ballot questions. Ballot questions represent your direct voice and are a directive to your local and state government that they have to follow the will of the people. This year important questions on ballots across the US are about the future of schools in your state, benefits for unemployed people, how much money you keep in your paycheck (or how much you pay to services), paternity and maternity leave, the legalization of marijuana, and hundreds of other important topics. Many of these ballot initiatives pass by only a few thousand, few hundred, or even few dozen votes.
There is an inverse relationship between the amount of attention a particular vote gets and the importance it has on your life. THe presidential election is very distant from your life, and by and large your life will be unchanged by who wins the presidential election. But as you go down the ticket, your day to day life becomes exponentially more affected. Your governor is going to pass laws that have a significant impact on your day to day life. Your local politicians are going to seek funding for projects that directly affect your life every day and the lives of the people who are important to you.
Finally, and I'm half-assing this appeal, is that even if the only election that you really care about is the presidential election, and if you feel that there are not candidates that represent you, if you don't vote then there will never be candidates who represent you. Many people on this forum felt that Bernie Sanders represented their values in this election, and that Sanders pushed the conversation into an area that was more closely aligned with their political values. Well, Bernie's first election as mayor of Burlington Vermont was decided by less than 20 votes. If those 20 people had decided to stay home that day, maybe it was raining, maybe they were late for work, maybe they just didn't feel like they had a say in politics and that there guy was going to lose, but if 20 of those people stayed home that day and Sanders had not been elected mayor (which he was a dark horse, outside chance candidate), then Sanders likely wouldn't have run again. He would have never become a state congressman, he would have never joined the House, he would have never become Senator Sanders, and he would have never challenged Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. He would have never had his name on any consequential law, and he would have only been known as a local agitator in a small American city. On your ballots in your city is a candidate who could become your next "Bernie Sanders," but if you don't go out and vote for that person in 2016, then they're never going to ascend to a nationwide race in 2028, and there will be another person sharing some feeling in 2032 that the presidential candidates just don't represent them.
So, please, go vote.
Not true, people who dont vote do it so when shit happens they just have a cop out answer by saying "I didnt vote for her/him"
here's a solution for you
write in Michael Jordan for president (or whoever) and then vote on the rest of the ballot. there's more than just the president.
edit: what albatross said
I know how you must feel, but vote for the lesser of the two evil.
Trump being a president, while funny and comical on its own right, could lead to some serious repercussions.
If Gore won in 2000 and 2004 Joe Lieberman would likely be the 2008 nominee as he would be a sitting VP with Presidential aspirations.
Kerry would never be a nominee in a alternate timeline where Gore won 2000 and 2004. Not to mention big reason Kerry even was viable in 2004 was his military background which was something looked for as a counter to the Iraq War in the primaries.
Kerry would never run for President in this timeline.
ersocaster
Member
Because despite what you think, one candidate is a raging loon who has shown countless times that he cannot lead this country. We cannot give him access to our military, we cannot give him access to our weapons, we cannot give him access to our foreign policy. The other candidate is a career politician who has spent most of her life helping the disadvantaged. Whatever you think you know about her does not change that fact.
There is a lot of risk in electing Trump. I don't think some people understand the gravity of the situation. Hillary might not be your ideal candidate, but she's not a blithering idiot who is going to ruin all foreign relations and possibly set back all social progress we've made in the last 8 years.
I don't think voting should be mandatory (if you don't want to vote knock yourself out, it's your right) but it not being a national holiday is the biggest fucking joke
Oppo
Member
i think Australia does it
you need both the carrot and the stick. not a big fine but something like a parking ticket.
Grover Cleveland
Member
Friendly Reminder:
The local City Council, School Board, Mayor, City Manager, Sheriff etc etc. elections have a hell of lot more impact on your daily life than the President of the United States ever will.
There is more on a ballot than just "picking the lesser of two evils"
And if we're just focusing on the national stage, I'd argue that if (mostly young liberals) got over their apathy and actually voted, especially in midterm Congressional elections, Clinton (or Obama for that matter) wouldn't have to operate in a climate in which they HAVE to be a lesser evil compared to the Republican challenger. The most liberal Presidential agenda in the world doesn't mean much of anything if they have to work with a legislature diametrically opposed to them in ideology.
The local City Council, School Board, Mayor, City Manager, Sheriff etc etc. elections have a hell of lot more impact on your daily life than the President of the United States ever will.
There is more on a ballot than just "picking the lesser of two evils"
And if we're just focusing on the national stage, I'd argue that if (mostly young liberals) got over their apathy and actually voted, especially in midterm Congressional elections, Clinton (or Obama for that matter) wouldn't have to operate in a climate in which they HAVE to be a lesser evil compared to the Republican challenger. The most liberal Presidential agenda in the world doesn't mean much of anything if they have to work with a legislature diametrically opposed to them in ideology.
Seriously. I'm not from the US, but given the chance I would fly down there and vote against trump
I respect your opinion and honestly wouldn't be mad if it was made mandatory I just disagree that it needs to be
The Albatross
Member
While I'm all for voting and made an impassioned appeal a few posts up, there's ample evidence that making it a national holiday doesn't increase voter turnout and may actually decrease voter turnout. I also absolutely don't think it should be made mandatory, both from a logistical point of view, and that it violates our most basic civil rights as Americans.
That said, if I could implement two new holidays it would be the first Tuesday in November and the Monday after the Super Bowl.
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