So, it’s on us once again. The American Presidential election. I haven’t voted in a long time. For one, everytime the election rolls around, I live in a different state than I did last time. I don’t even know where I have a ballot.

But, I’ve stopped voting anyway. I guess this has to do with that I came of age during the controversial Bush-Gore election of 2000. What was supposed to be a starry-eyed warm, ooey-gooey feeling of democracy, was forever tainted by news footage of voting boards sitting in cramped rooms poring over chads…dimpled chads, hanging chads…which one counts…”I demand a recount!”

And I realized, yes, the world was zoned in on Florida because the governor just so happened to be the brother of the Republican candidate. (What were the odds?!) But, I thought, if the news media and voting integrity zoned in on every state like that, who knows what would happen?! Aside from that, living in a very southern Bible belt area, and not in a swing state, the electoral college ensured my vote didn’t matter way. Voting, I decided was a scam.

By the next election, I had discovered the Illuminati, and was a hardcore conspiracy theorist. (I have calmed down a lot on that). But, I decided not only was voting a fraud, but so was democracy. The presidential election was sort of like a bad reality show, like Rock of Love, or The Bachelor. There was a predetermined winner all along, but the process is entertaining.

I still pretty much feel that way. Although, this election seems to be worse than the others. I’ve read books on both candidates. They are both awful human beings that need to be in jail. So, casting a ballot for either of them seems to be somehow a breach of conscience. But, I was in a sermon once, where the pastor addressed this issue. He agreed that many people feel democracy was a farce, and while he couldn’t say for certain how deep the governmental deception went, he explained we couldn’t give up. “Voting is still the right thing to do. Whether it matters or not, it’s the right thing to do.” He explained that we will give account for what we did or didn’t do, and not voting is not doing anything.

He’s right, I know. That’s why I quoted him. But, still, everytime I think of going to a voting booth, I can hear this laughter in my head. The “elite” that run the word laughing at the huddled masses waiting to vote in the rain. “And they think they have power. Hahahaha!”

And something in me doesn’t want to vote in silent defiance. Dumb I know. But, it’s sort of like my stance of being a conscientious objector to Obamacare. No one’s watching, and it really just hurts me. So, maybe I should just get insurance and vote.