This is a loaded question and, bar the obvious answer that you should vote for me, I thought I would address a few reasons that I see people use for voting, why I consider them invalid, and what I believe should drive us instead.
Let me start by saying that I decided to stand as independent, amongst the many reason, because I believe that all main parties are promoting the same recipe, all they do is offer a different flavour on top, do you really have a choice when all the choices are the same? The first key element is clear, go read every policy, do not stop at the sound bites. I know, it takes time, but voting is important and, once every 4 years, you can spend a couple of hours researching your candidates, even better show up at the club and discuss your research afterwards.
Talking about politics should not be a dirty item, enough of the “we don’t talk politics” here, I don’t talk football, yet I have to listen for hours on end about how much you care for your favourite player, and whether the premiership is won by a team or the other will not change my lifestyle one bit, but guess what changes my life? Who gets into power and makes decision affecting me, my family and my village.
Next, how many times have you thought about voting for someone but, because is in a minor party or independent, thought that he would not go anywhere, would be a wasted vote and supported instead one of the usual suspects? This is a big problem for many reasons, the obvious one is that with this line of thinking nothing will ever change and the status quo wins. How can you expect changes without making different choices yourself? You tried voting to defeat someone for fear of what could happen, how about we look at what individuals say and we vote not against, but for something. Vote for someone whose idea you genuinely support. If he gets in all the better, if he doesn’t, hopefully he has gained enough that the next time you might stand a change. Change takes time.
You must have heard people saying “my family has been Red for 3 generations” or “I’m Blue through and through”, or any similar sentence, let me ask you, what have they done to earn your loyalty? Seriously, think about it, is there any reason why you should support them like a football team? I mean, I was born in Florence, I stopped following football in 1996, Fiorentina won the last game I attended with a hattrick by Batistuta, what a glorious game, and even if I don’t follow football any more I will still support Fiorentina until the day I die, same way as I will support Rhigos rugby until the end, it’s my home team, I shed blood with them, but what about a political party? Why would I be loyal to them?
A politician is there to represent the people in the constituency, loyalty should be earned and, if they fail to represent you they should not be voted in again, simple as, yet, out of loyalty for a colour we keep voting them in. Why? Try a different idea, ignore the colour, listen to the person and vote whoever seems most sensible to you, when it comes to the end of the term see if that person has done what he said he would, if he hasn’t, why would you support him again? We had over a century of Red/Blue duopoly and everything they have done has made us poorer and favoured corporations, try something new.
Don’t ever vote against someone or something, it can be used against you. If you show that, given enough fearmongery, you can vote against someone, rest assured that they will create a puppet and instil you enough fear in it that you will vote for anyone with a chance to save you. Don’t vote to destroy, vote to create, vote for positive proposals, and if there is nobody worth a vote go and vote for nobody. A vote for nobody is not a lost vote, is a sign that there is nobody worth and someone could decide to step up and fill that void, but as long as you don’t make your discontent known, nothing will ever change.
Eventually, if nobody step up, stand and vote for yourself, do not be afraid, because fear is how they control us, and we free ourselves from their shackles by refusing to act in fear.
“2 Timothy 1:7 – For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”