The case for voting or not voting
Today is nomination day, and election day is just over two weeks away. Much has been made of young people voting or not voting. For those of you 18 or 19-year-old TEENs, this may be your first opportunity to vote.
But should you? Some think not, while others think you would be doing yourself and your country a disservice if you don’t.
So today, teenAGE makes out the case made by both sides and allows you to decide:
Voting:
– An active electorate leads to a vibrant democracy. The argument behind this is: the parties will have to appeal to persons outside their loyal respective bases if those who aren’t tribal actually vote. If you don’t intend to vote, there is no reason for a political party to pay too much attention to you.
– Our ancestors fought hard for universal adult suffrage. The argument is that it would be a disservice to that fight to be able to vote and sit nonchalantly by.
– If you don’t vote, then you have no right to complain about things subsequently done by the Government. The argument is that you had the chance to choose someone else and didn’t.
Not voting:
– It makes no difference. The argument is that even if you were able to tip the scale in the direction of either party, they both have a track record of disregard for people once they have power. Proponents of this argument suggest that there is no longer any great ideological difference between the parties.
– Voting would represent approval of Jamaica’s current standard of politics. The argument is that the standard of behaviour and competence shown by Jamaican politicians has been generally mediocre and to vote for them would be to show approval for their past behaviour.
– The best way to dissent is to abstain. The argument is that low voter turnout reflects the dissatisfaction of the electorate. This rests on the suggestion that it is the responsibility of those in power to listen to the message sent by low voter turnout and seek to appeal to the unhappy populous.
These are three of the main arguments usually presented by those on both sides of the debate. Let us know in the comments which side appeals to you more.
