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Show (UNCOMMON SENSE :rii src "When Not To Vote" by Thomas Bong V Between now and election day, Nov. 7, we will hear pleas from radio, television, the printed media, in public addresses, and we will read in every candidates literature of plea to "get out and vote". The arguments go something like this: America has one fo the worst voting participation records in the world. The USSR turns out 99.98 per cent, Rumania gets out over 97 per cent, and most of Europe produces better than a 70 per cent record. All of this contradicts the embarrassing American record we have, in the last 25 years, only barely topped 60 percent twice (and that for-us-promethian achievement achieve-ment is virtually never equalled in state or local elections). The reasoning continues: We are a democracy. The government is of, by and for the people. For a government gov-ernment to truly represent the people, peo-ple, the people must have expressed express-ed their desires in a secret, freely "voted in" election. Very little imagination im-agination is needed, they add, to see that a government elected by a minority of electors could easily be unrepresentative of the people as a whole. Their argument is simple and obvious. The reasoning breaks down, however, when one realizes that many of us should not be voting. vot-ing. Although we should all be free to vote there should be no racial, sexual, or otherwise arbitrary restrictive re-strictive limitations there are several considerations that would prohibit our participation, if we used a little "uncommon sense" and a bit of common intelligence. In these days of Madison Avenue campaigns, and of subtle efforts to motivate our votes in unconscious unconsci-ous ways, it takes every mental effort ef-fort that we can muster to maintain a bare semblance of reason and logic in the choice of our government. govern-ment. For that reason, we should very carefully erect a personal system of comparison for the candidates for a particular office; comparing them all along the lines of character, charac-ter, past record, their positions on issues of importance and so on. But why should we consider not voting? Simply because, in spite of the advice one accepts to get himself him-self informed, there will be some ini races that we will tot ee nothing about. In those nxJei we know only that Ihisorira didate is the incumbent ooui ing" for office, or some of chologically motivaling feist do not know enough to reiig telligent decision among mu; candidacy. Then, with e les factors known, we are Aa to make a decision on ;:-ius slogans only our i'ne being derived proportion m a candidate's supply ol:: finances. Effectively, I supporting the system:' us recognize as havtf: drawbacks the "big-n: hind the campaigns ol" cessful candidates. During the coming me" face of constant appeals' should do our best to jr about every mportanir which is not these oV ever, we should not 6 mathematical game-pK campaigners. Should ant of the candidates or: in a race by election voluntarily withhold oun? contest. |