I came across an excellent piece that explains why caring about the presidential election is actually a sign of apathy:
One of the most socially destructive traits is apathy. Without paying attention and being involved, one can not only fail to stop, but even perpetuate, the worst social ills imaginable.
That’s why I advocate staying as uninvested in the current presidential election as possible.
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The political campaigns — which exist for the purpose of trying to “win” — give participants the feeling they are doing something. Meanwhile, this feeling of “doing something” fails to translate at all into anything remotely relevant to the causes they hold dear. After it’s all over, the activist is exhausted and unable to take on any action that has real effects on the community.
Of course, one must be first convinced that the two candidates are, in fact, “roughly indiscernible” and irrelevant to the causes one holds dear. But this should be the opinion of many who still plan on voting for either President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. The former has alienated serious liberals with an atrocious civil liberties record, expansion of American military involvement and harsh prosecution of the drug war, among other issues. The latter has alienated serious conservatives with his endless politically convenient conversions, most notably in literally crafting the basis of the much-derided Affordable Care Act.
Even if there were serious differences between the two candidates, it’s very hard to overstate the ineffectiveness of voting. Given the huge number of people your vote is up against, the odds show it is literally more likely for you to die in a car accident on the way to the polling place than to cast a decisive vote in the presidential election. This is even more of an issue in a state like Oklahoma that currently has zero chance of even remotely resembling a “swing state.”
Voting is the easy way out. It’s a mechanism for individuals to feel like they’ve done something to enact change without actually having to do anything. Whether Obama wins or Romney wins is irrelevant, they’re more similar than different. On top of that, statistically speaking, your vote doesn’t count. The outcome of the election will be the same whether you go out and vote or stay home.
Change isn’t easy and casting a vote at the polling place on November 6th will not accomplish anything. The only way things will change is if public opinion changes and that can only happen when people realize how entirely corrupt and evil the state is. Unfortunately people will never come to this realization so long as they believe they have a say in how the state operates through the voting process.