Election season is upon us. It’s awful, I know. The recycle bin fills up twice as fast from unconvincing direct mail ads by the ream. Awkward tension develops amongst neighbors with rival candidates campaign signs staked in their front yards. And the most abhorrent form of human communication ever devised, the political bumper sticker, rubs your nose in the random ideologies of fellow drivers.

About this time, various influential individuals, interest groups, and non-profits spring up to clamor about the importance of voting. A public shaming in the form of radio, TV, and print ads takes place to discourage anyone from even thinking the thought of not voting. Celebrities on gilded soapboxes admonish the entire population about the need to vote.

“Vote or Die” went one get-out-the-vote campaign some years ago. That seems a little extreme, doesn’t it? But even without the stark alternative of dying, is voting a necessary and moral thing for all people to do? I’m not so sure. [Read more…]