Different Point Of View
Muhammad Naeem | Contributed
I see colorful pieces sprouting all over town. It is that season again. Signs that are shouting for our attention, proclaiming that our votes should go to this person or that. I am, of course, talking about the election season. Every two years, politicians realize that not only we exist, but that they need us to validate their own existence as well. They will say what we want to hear, or rather, what they think we want to hear. They’ll pretend to like things that we like, and to believe in whatever they think will get them elected, as if we don’t see through their charade. I must admit that most of us actually don’t see through their fake beliefs, and we vote them into office, only to realize that for the rest of their term, they do whatever benefits them or their cronies, and we, the voters, can all go to [h-word].
I am amazed at how little the voters actually know about the candidates, or the propositions on the ballot. We always get a summary publication in the mail, and we usually toss it away, hoping to come back to it when we have some free time, which we never do, because there is always something streaming on some service that we have subscribed to, or videos to watch in our social media feeds. I see the names on posters around town of who is running for city council or some county position or something else. I recognize some names from previous elections and wonder about the new, strange sounding names. But that’s how far it goes. I don’t know anything more about the candidates. I am sure they have some websites explaining their fake ideas about how to improve our lives, but I don’t have any desire to actually waste time on looking it up. Afterall, my browser search history has more colorful topics to waste my time.
Here is my approach to voting and I am certain that others have a similar approach. If they don’t, then they can learn from me and reduce a lot of the stress related to elections. It will lessen their election-fatigue, if you must.
Usually, I don’t know what the candidates stand for or what their platforms are, because most of the postcards that I get, usually tell me how bad their opponents are and not what they plan to do if elected. So, I vote for the person that has better profile picture. Actually, I vote for the person who sends me the most postcards, since the picture becomes better and better the more I see it. Sometimes I receive three or more postcards from the same candidate at the same time and that impresses me. If a candidate has a lot of money to spend on mailing all those postcards, then that candidate has a lot of special interest donors behind him (or her). That candidate must be very important if powerful entities are supporting him (or her). I should vote for that candidate instead of the poor [b-word] running against him (or her). After all, if the
opponent can’t even bother to send me enough postcards; then, I don’t want to give him (or her) any of my attention.
These days, some candidates are sending text messages or emails. Most of the time, I delete the messages and block their numbers. But some still manage to get through, and of course, when it comes to voting, I remember their names. I don’t know anything about what the message was about, but I definitely remember their names and somehow, those names get checked on my ballot. Same goes for the posters on the roads. The one most prominent gets my vote. Just like the postcard scenario above, the more signs a candidate puts on the streets, the more I see the name, and most likely, that one will get my vote. If a candidate can’t even afford to put enough signs to overshadow his or her opponents, then why should I vote for that candidate? Sometimes I only vote for the candidate whose name I saw just before filling out that mail-in ballot. That’s the name that usually comes to mind.
It’s even worse when it comes to propositions. Most of the time, all we see are the yes or no signs or advertisements telling us to vote yes or no on those propositions. The only time we see any explanation as to what each proposition says is when we are filling out the ballot. Hardly enough time to make an informed decision, but a decision has to be made. So, I vote for the one that promises to help schools, or help our kids, or help our communities. It doesn’t really matter if it would actually do what it says or not; who has the time to dig that deep? If it pays enough lip service, it is the one I am going to vote for—or against. Also, the one that I see the most on television gets my vote, because that is the only one that I remember, and if they have spent enough money favoring or opposing it, then there must be a good reason to vote accordingly. I mean, why would some people spend so much energy on advertising for or against a particular proposition if they didn’t really believe passionately about it? I must respect that passion and help them in their cause.
The loudest voice gets my vote. Darned be the consequences. Afterall, it is a free country. I can vote anyway I want. At the end of the day, we live in California, and no matter how I vote, it makes absolutely no difference in the final outcome. By the way, when I don’t know anything about a candidate or haven’t seen any postcard, sign, or advertisement for that candidate, I look at his or her name and that of the opponents. I then vote for the name that sounds the nicest. If a person has a nice-sounding name, that person deserves my vote. For some of the propositions, I just flip a coin. Heads, I say yes; tails, I say no.
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