I don't know who to vote for next year. Do I even have to vote?

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Hello everyone. I want to start off by saying that I used to be a hardcore Conservative/Republican until about mid-September. Everything changed when my Senior International Baccalaureate Global Studies class did an in-dept study of Karl Marx, Marxism, Russian Revolution, Stalin, and Communism. I’m not a Communist, but I’m not a Capitalist. I realized that Socialism, in my opinion, is a better form of government and many countries have benefited from it, such as Finland and countries of Scandinavia. Marx commented on how in Capitalism, the big businesses have these factories and the working conditions are horrendous- and many people suffer in these 3rd world countries. I realized that I hate the concept of competition- it does no good and I realized that Capitalism drives greed, selfishness, and pride in society and it’s one of the main driving forces of human trafficking, sex slavery, our hyper sexualized media industry (cause “sex sells”), and even the selling of baby body parts because in Capitalism, everything is all about money and spending. Now, I realize that Marx wanted the elimination of religion which I am against, but if you look at Finland, people are free to practice their faith. One thing that gives me hope is Pope Francis and his message of love.
With that being said, over these past few months, I realized that I believe in social justice (I mean the good type- I’m still against gay marriage and abortion). My belief in social justice is one of the driving forces of my desire to become a doctor one day. I will treat anyone if I become a doctor. Hypothetically speaking, if a murderer or a terrorist is severly injured and is losing his or her life, I will do everything I can to save this person because human life is sacred and I hope that my love and my willingness to save this person’s life will cause their conversion. I am a staunch supporter of Syrian refugees to come to America and I hate the growing Islamophobia among the right wingers. I don’t want to be racially profiled when I go somewhere as I’ve heard of stories of people of my race getting racially profiled. What saddens me is that people support racial profiling. I see so much hatred against minority racial ethnicities from the right wingers (I am a minority race) especially from Trump. I mean I got called a “liberal socialist atheist” by a traditional Catholic just because I don’t support Trump :(. Things just escalated these past few months, regarding politics, and I realize that I cannot vote for the Republican party. I just can’t; it goes against these social justice issues that I stand for. If I could, I would vote Democrat, but there is not a single democrat candidate who is against gay marriage and abortion. Am I morally obligated to vote? I’m turning 18 next year and sadly, I don’t know if I’ll vote in my first election.
I guess this whole process reaffirmed my decision to major in political science when I go off to college next year. Heck, maybe someday I’ll be a politician if God wills it.
 
My first was the 1968 election; I voted for Nixon. I now know that in every Presidential election I was either holding my nose as I voted, or if I wasn’t, I should have been. I will probably vote for a presidential candidate next year, and I will probably be holding my nose again.

That said, I don’t necessarily follow the “you have to vote; it’s your absolute duty as a citizen” line of thinking. Forcing someone to choose one out of several stinkers is as much a violation of the prospective voter’s civil rights as is blocking someone from voting. However, the presidency will not be the only office on the ballot. There will also be state- and local-level offices up for grabs, and some of those may actually have a greater impact on issues that actually impact you than the presidency. You would do well to inform yourself about those elections and take part, even if you choose to skip voting for a presidential candidate.
 
Q: Do Christians have a moral obligation to vote and be politically active?

A: Yes. Those who fail to oppose Evil are guilty of gravely serious Sins of Omission.

The most important political issues facing the US are not economic or racial. The most important issues are the Sanctity of Human Life issues. Christians have an obligation to fight the Culture of Death to the best of their ability.

The Democrat party bosses have largely adopted brutal pro-death policies. If you want to be a Democrat, you must work to reverse those policies. If you choose to be a Republican, you must likewise promote a prolife agenda against those Republicans advocating the Culture of Death.

Keep your focus on what is really important rather than the trivia that the media promotes. In other words, keep your focus on God rather than on men.
 
You can always vote for a third party candidate e.g. Socialist Party of America or Green Party. Its an empty gesture, but you at least fulfil your moral obligation to vote. If you want more options, you can always stand for a local office yourself e.g. city council, state legislature etc. In many ways, those who want more options have a duty to provide them.
 
My one Answer to all you said is this, , you are 18 and your opinion is still developing,
It’s great that you have such an interest in world affairs ,
Capitalism / Soialism / Communism all have good & Bad Points,
But I created my opinion In the Words of Winstone Churcill ,Democracy isn’t Perfect ,
But it’s the best System I Know, I suggest you research Winstone Churchill ,
You will learn a lot from his words, plus other Great Leaders ,
Should you Vote ar all ?
Yes , I Believe you must Vote , if not for yourself ,but for the millions that gave up their lives
To preserve freedom so you can sit and debate weather you should vote at all .
If you don’t like the main contenders then vote for an obscure independent ,
 
You don’t have to vote. Technically, you don’t have to do anything except die.

But you would be foolish not to; even if you vote for the “lesser of two evils.” I say, anyone who does not vote gives up the right to complain about their government because they have done nothing to make it better.

Consider this:

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Nothing has been more successful than Capitalism. It’s still is the greatest and most principled economic system. Much of its problems are made by poor political oversight in an era of vast structural changes injected by computerization.

This is the book to read: confrontingcapitalism.com/

excerpt of the add for the book:
Every shortcoming—the financialization of the economic system, companies’ short-term growth and profit objectives, insufficient investment in the infrastructure, neglect of the environment, and more—is linked, and each surmountable. Confronting Capitalism maps out the most pressing challenges we face as a nation, and plots a bold new direction for achieving a society that offers a better and fairer chance for all its citizens.
 
Thanks guys for your (name removed by moderator)ut. It’s helped me, but I’m still a little conflicted.
 
This is part of the reason I dislike how large the government is, and prefer smaller, localized government. Your vote actually matters. I don’t believe my vote makes a difference when it comes to the federal government.
 
PaulfromIowa said:
I wrote that, I didn’t copy it from anywhere. I am confident, however, that I am correct that deliberately failing to oppose the Culture of Death is a grave sin of omission.
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Let me see if you really believe this with a test. Do you have a yard sign in your front yard that proclaims “End Abortion Now” or “Abortion is Murder” or any such pro-life message? If not, you are failing to oppose the Culture of Death in every way possible. Do you believe it is a grave sin of omission to refrain from placing a pro-life yard sign on your front lawn?
 
What do you guys think about Bernie Sanders? Personally, I like him a lot. He said he’s going to try to make college tuition free! That’s something I care about because I’m going to college next year and the tuition for college is ridiculous, like more than 60k if you include housing and meals. I know Sanders is not pro-life and anti-gay marriage, so I’m really hesitating on my vote for him.
 
JCats1 said:
What do you guys think about Bernie Sanders? Personally, I like him a lot. **He said he’s going to try to make college tuition free! **That’s something I care about because I’m going to college next year and the tuition for college is ridiculous, like more than 60k if you include housing and meals. I know Sanders is not pro-life and anti-gay marriage, so I’m really hesitating on my vote for him.
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I don’t think “free” means what you think it means.

Nothing in life is free. If it *seems *free to you, that simply means that someone else is paying for it.

So maybe what you mean is:

“Personally, I like him a lot. He said he is going to make someone else pay for me to go to college.”
 
When I read Marx I found him incoherent. He just doesn’t make sense. Capitalism has increased the standard of living for most of the world including the poor. It is true that in capitalism some will have more than others, maybe even much more. But everyone will grow wealthier. Under communist or socialist systems there will still be some with more and even much more than others. This allocation will not be a free market decision but a political decision. It is a mistake to think that greed and selfishness only exist in a free market. These exist just as much in a unfree market and drive the decisions of those who control that market. The party leaders get what they want in capitalism and socialism.

As for voting I do not think you have to vote. I don’t vote as a rule. One reason is a single vote is meaninglessness. It is extremely unlikely a single vote will make a difference. Another is the actual counting of votes shows that the system is unreliable as recounts always come up with different numbers.

I also think any vote is a vote for the system. I oppose our current government. I don’t because it allows a free market but just the opposite. The US is a fascist/socialist state that rewards political individuals and groups at the expense of society as a whole. I oppose in principle most things the state does and almost every politician approves of. I think we need a radically different system and voting for a particular man in that system will certainly not accomplish this.
 
You can’t force charity, which is what socialism does; “you WILL have this money taken from you, or you WILL be imprisoned, or else.” Personally, I do not want to pay for your college. In fact, the money that would be stolen from my family in order to fund the coffers to send you to college would be put to much better use either by the Church or by me being able to use that money to help someone of my own accord, thus exercising actual charity.

What the United States has now is closer to socialism than capitalism, in reality. As the old saying goes with regards to socialism: “Eventually, you run out of other people’s money.”
 
BChartowski said:
Personally, I do not want to pay for your college. In fact, the money that would be stolen from my family in order to fund the coffers to send you to college would be put to much better use …
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But I assume you don’t mind paying for JCats1’s high schooling?
 
Yes you must vote. It is our obligation to vote. You can always write in a name for the president. One reason why it is so important to vote is: Politicians take note of apathy. If everyone comes out to vote it tells politicians that they are being watched.
 
Another reason to vote:

You have no right to complain if you haven’t voted.
 
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