My friends react with horror to my remark that I do not intend to vote in any future national elections. Both offer the same objection: "If you don't vote, how can you complain about the actions of the government?"
I presume they make that complaint because it is the first thing which pops into their heads. It certainly seems, at first blush, to have validity. In fact, it is utterly vacuous. Since we are lunching together, I ask, "Did you vote for the cook?" Their puzzled look inspires my next question.
"Did you ever fly on an airliner?" I ask. "Sure," is the reply. "So what?"
"Did you vote for the pilot?" Furrowed brows, quizzical stares. "No, of course not. Why should we?"
"Exactly. You expected that the pilot, whoever he was, would be qualified to do the job, right?" "Of course."
"And if, for some reason, there had been no pilot, would voting on which passenger was to fly the plane have made any sense?" Impatient shakes of the head. "No!"
"Well, there you have it. The President's job is not complex. His duties are listed in the Constitution, and they are not difficult. If the man elected to the job were to fulfill those duties, and uphold his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, what difference would it make who he was? Did it matter who flew the plane, drove the bus, or delivered the milk? Similarly, if the man elected had no intention of fulfilling the duties of President, would that be OK if he had been elected by a landslide?"
Besides, if voting is the right way to select people for important (more or less) jobs, why should it be limited to politics? Why NOT vote for the pilot of your next airline flight? "If you survived an airliner crash, would you sue your fellow survivors, if any, and the families of the passengers who died?" Blank stares. "Huh?"
"Well, they failed to do their duty to vote for the best man for pilot. Had they voted, they might have elected someone who would have avoided this disaster. Their indifference might have cost people their lives! Or would you say that, even had the pilot staggered aboard drunk, you still have no cause for complaint, because you didn't vote for him?"
I warm to my subject, pointing out that Presidents have dozens, if not hundreds, of advisers, and nobody votes for them; indeed, their very identity is known to few of us. Moreover, Supreme Court Justices, whose fantasies, written down, are considered the "law of the land," are not elected, although they are at least as important as the President.
