Why Your Vote No Longer Counts & The True Power Of Abstention

(I am reposting here on Substack a portion of something I wrote
back in 2018. Important to note how much has stayed the same
since then, and what has gotten worse. It is also important to
note that this was written before COVID1984.)


Dear America, If Voting Made Any Real Difference, They Wouldn’t
Let Us Do It (2018)


Even if you vote, or not, and your party wins, or not, the police
state will continue. Constantly voting for the lesser of two
evils has manifested into an inevitable cycle in which the
government gets more powerful and the people get poorer. But
don’t take my word for it, just look at the current state of
America.


50 percent of all American workers make less than $30,533 a year.
In the meantime, however, the politically connected elite made up
of the 0.1% have increased their wealth by more than $1 trillion
in the past year. One trillion also happens to be the same amount
of money that the US taxpayer has had placed on their backs in
the form of government debt in the last year too. Coincidence?
Probably not.


“But if the republicans keep the house we will make America
great,” right? Or, “if the dems take the house, we can finally
have nice things,” right? Wrong. The reality of the situation is
that no matter who gets elected, these politicians have already
made a Faustian bargain to keep the police and warfare state in
power.


In today’s political climate, it is no longer a question of which
party is in power, or which party will usher in totalitarianism.
Instead, we have reached a point of simply waiting for the hammer
to finally fall.


Donald Trump ran on a platform to make government smaller, get
America out of these endless wars, cease the chaotic and out of
control spending, and rein in the overreaching executive.
Instead, he’s continued wars, increased spending, and followed in
his predecessor’s footsteps in using his position of president
like a dictatorship with executive order after executive
order—most recently threatening to alter the very Constitution
with one.


One could make the argument that Trump is not a politician, never
has been, and is truly out to buck the system and bring about an
era of change. While that is debatable, it is also possible.
However, as I have said many times, abstention is a legitimate
political stance to take in the face of such overwhelming
collusion and corruption.


It is important that every American honor this nation's true
values by following their heart and voting for who you truly
believe in, even if that may be no one.


The concept of abstention dates back to the Founding Fathers and
the creation of this country. An extensive paper written by Grant
M. Hayden entitled, Abstention: The Unexpected Power of
Withholding Your Vote, breaks down this idea and shows how this
practice has been used throughout history in just the type of
situation Americans currently find themselves.


"In some cases, people abstain when they are indifferent among
the electoral choices, or when they judge the benefits of voting
to be outweighed by the costs. The underlying assumption is that
abstention, unlike voting, is neutral with respect to the
outcome. But while the contours of the right to vote have been
the subject of a tremendous amount of scholarship across many
disciplines, abstention, despite its obvious connection to the
right to vote, has been almost completely ignored." - Grant M.
Hayden


Abstaining from a presidential election, or any for that matter,
is your right, (for now), despite the clear effort to make it
seem somehow unAmerican. When in reality it is a quintessential
part of American History. When confronted with all the damning
information about not only the two pre-approved and pre-selected
choices in this two-party system, but the system in its entirety,
the entire facade begins to come down.


Once we begin to see beyond the deception, it's easy to see the
two-faced nature of this political game. A great example of this
was made clear in an old video by HighImpactFlix (that has
now been removed from history by YouTube with no explanation)
showing Obama, who is clearly a supporter of Hillary Clinton
today, playing the game while running against Clinton in the
past. Showing the glaring contradictions between what he says now
and what he said about her while running.


So which does he really believe? Neither? Both? Or is that he has
simply fallen into line.


At the end of the day, when you feel that pressure, that is
indeed being placed on every American, to go out and vote,
regardless of your understanding, your passion or your desire,
realize that you are being manipulated to fall in line and
further legitimize what has become no more than an elite-run
selection process, framed absurdly as "democracy in action." And
if history is any judge, regardless of the outcome, Americans can
hope for things to remain the same at best, and at worst ...
well, I would bet that is becoming very clear to everyone.


Politicians Now Threatening And Encouraging Violence In The Land
Of The Free (2018)


At the end of the day, you’re forced to choose between two,
self-serving candidates who will say whatever BS they have to
gain/retain power. People think they can use their vote to
get “the right guy in power.” But the truth is, the new guy just
turns into the last guy… because the whole system is broken.


The government spends almost every tax dollar it takes in to pay
interest on its debt and on entitlements like social security and
Medicare. And the government’s own projections show the
country going only deeper and deeper into debt. So any
choice leads to the same set of dire, economic
consequences. And by voting, you’re saying you accept the
current system. You may have your gripes, but you ultimately
believe it’s fair and it works. 


The reality is, there are far better ways to actually
vote. For one, you can vote with your feet… that’s something
I did a decade ago when I moved abroad. But that’s not for
everybody… some people can’t just move. But you can also
vote with your dollars. You should take all the legal steps at
your disposal to reduce what you owe the government. If you
don’t like the candidates, simply stop participating in the
system. Stop giving them resources to squander “for your
benefit.”


Remember, the government spends YOUR money, not theirs. So if you
want them to stop wasting money, stop giving them so
much. So while everyone else lines up to vote in the
midterms, then proudly posts a picture of their “I voted” sticker
on social media… Just remember, there are better ways to
make your vote count.


Logic Behind Not Voting


It’s pretty easy to comprehend the initial logic behind the
pointlessness of voting when you just look at the distinct level
of corruption that takes place in government today. Decades of
continued wealth inequality and power centralization don’t
exactly offer any glimmers of hope that the democratic process is
just, and represents the will of the people.


If that study is not enough logic to point out the uselessness of
voting today, just look at the last five presidents, Three
republicans (Trump, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush) and two
democrats (Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama). With minor
adjustments for current group think and wedge issues, they all
carried on with the same destructive policies.


They all started imperialists wars over seas, and committed
massive war crimes; they all destroyed the value of the currency
through terrible monetary policy; they all furthered the trend
towards power centralization/wealth inequality; they all enacted
laws to further government/police/spying power; and most
importantly they all sold their country out for personal gains.


Some want to act like the politicians are just doing their best,
it’s the other team’s fault, or claim it’s just very complicated
to understand the ins and outs of US politics. We cannot be so
naïve. The harsh reality is that a criminal network sits at the
top of the pyramid, which has engulfed both the left and right
side of politics to form one team of true power: Team
Establishment.


While people misplace the root causes of the problem by picking
puppets in the phony left vs. right paradigm, it’s business as
usual for the criminal puppet masters behind the scenes. The
masses don’t even know who or what they’re fighting against,
resulting in little to no real resistance against the true
problems. This has to change.


Psychological Hurdles


This is where it gets extremely tough for people. Logic is one
hurdle to climb, but getting over the psychological and emotional
aspect of not voting is another beast. Naturally, people want to
view their country and its democratic process in a favorable
light; therefore, it is a painful dose of reality to swallow when
one figures out that they have been manipulated, their home
doesn’t represent what they thought it did, and their vote no
longer matters, if it ever did. To make matters worse, society
often looks down on those who do not vote as ungrateful,
uneducated and unpatriotic. The combination of the two results in
an inner egotistic pride to vote and an outer social isolation
for failing to vote, both of which have devastating effects on
the human psyche. Essentially it traps many people into a
psychological box that the system has built for them, using
pride, guilt and fear as the invisible chains that control them
into thinking voting is the only solution for change.


Psychologically something is fundamentally wrong with people when
they logically know the game is rigged, yet still choose to
participate, as if the outcome makes any difference. Society is
stuck in this game that is on a never-ending loop; still
believing that this time voting is going to get them out of the
loop and on a new and better path. It’s like constantly and
passionately looking to the outcome of a coin flip to decide on
important topics, when in fact the coin is the same on both
sides. The problem is not the coin flip, but instead the people
giving it legitimacy by constantly participating in the flipping.
Voting in a rigged game is what gives it legitimacy. If large
masses of people simply didn’t vote, ceased to pay attention, and
refused to obey the process, the rigged institutions would lose
all credibility and quickly change or risk becoming obsolete.
Some form of energy is needed to sustain corrupt systems, and
inevitably the people are the direct source of fuel that keeps it
running. Remove the participation and the game stops.


Savior Complex


No savior is coming to save the people. It is now, and has only
ever been, the people who can save themselves.


It’s so easy to get emotionally attached to the idea of having a
hero save the day. It removes us from feeling personally
responsible for the atrocities committed, or being allowed to
take place -- except of course when we must momentarily climb
free of our apathetic stupor, and vote for one of two
pre-approved “heroes”, then retreat back to the comforting
suffocation of the subtle but ceaseless reassurances that we have
fulfilled our patriotic duty by choosing not to acknowledge how
utterly redundant it all is, and how little actually
changes. 


No one individual, one bill, or one action, will ever be
the one thing we have all been waiting for to
save the day. We must stop looking for that savior, it does not
exist. We must instead realize that we are the only ones who can
change things for ourselves. 


Action: What Can I Do Then?


This is where the biggest point should be made and it cannot be
stressed enough.


NOT VOTING DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE NOT POLITICALLY
ACTIVE!


This is so important to understand because many people equate the
civil disobedient act of not voting with doing nothing
politically. When In fact, it should be the direct opposite;
meaning the political system is so screwed up that all citizens
have a personal responsibility to move outside the system and
change it. This is a call to action that should be embraced so
that future generations can prosper, or at least have a fighting
chance. People need to get more directly politically active in
order to manifest a system that works for the people, instead of
pretending like voting along party lines is changing anything.
It’s time people understand that there are many political actions
besides voting that can be far more powerful and bring about far
more change than any type of vote.


Here are three concrete actions that people can take right now in
order to change the system. Each one is a hell of a lot more
politically active than checking off a person's name in the
ballot box.


1) Get involved at the local level or state
level.


There are many strategies to bring about change, so the point
here is not to say don’t ever vote, but more so to say do not
participate in a rigged game. If you can see all of the obvious
reason we have pointed out today, demonstrating that the system
is ultimately a fraudulent one, ask yourself why you would still
then choose to participate. However, if you still have faith that
the system can be salvaged, then the local and state governments
may still be salvageable.


2) Practice agorism by operating outside the
system.


As much as humanly possible, operate outside the corrupt aspects
of the system. This includes transferring your money outside of
criminal banks, getting into other asset classes besides fiat
currencies, not paying taxes, eating locally and organically,
canceling your cable package, quitting jobs that are unethical,
boycotting institutions that constantly demonstrate corruption,
and stop giving your dollars to entities which you are against.
The more energy we give to the system, the better it functions.


3) Speak out and spread knowledge.


It is not always the big actions which are the most important;
sometimes it’s the culmination of many small individual actions
which result in big changes. Getting the masses access to real
knowledge is the most important part of the movement right now,
so it’s important to seize every opportunity to speak out and
spread information. The flow of information cannot be stopped if
it is constantly being spread. The more people begin to speak up,
the harder the controllers of the system will find it is to hide.
Their weak information and lies will not be able to hold up
logically or psychologically once enough people awaken and speak
truth.


Always remember that political action is not confined to voting.
In fact, some of the most powerful political actions have had
nothing to do with voting. Martin Luther King Jr. or Mahatma
Gandhi didn’t use voting to ignite a civil rights movement, just
like we don’t need to rely on the elections to bring about real
change. It’s time people realize change is not coming from the
top down, it happens bottom up. So instead of worrying about the
elections, challenge yourself to get out and take direct action
towards change. It really is the only way a true paradigm shift
in consciousness will ever come about. We have the power and we
don’t need representatives to use it!


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