To the 'anti-voters'

The general election is just over a month away now and with the first television debate being shown tonight I thought it would be relevant to blog about a particular pet hate of mine.

There seems to be a growing trend that it is better to not vote when it comes to elections. There are a handful of high profile individuals who strongly claim that politicians are unfair and disillusioned with the British people. That they are in politics for all the wrong reasons and have lost touch with the 'working man'. What this has lead to is this dribbling nonsense that a 'revolution' is forthcoming and the entire nation will sucumb to a change in the way the nation will be lead.

I have to admit I have never read Revolution by Russell Brand and though it is seems to be immensely popular I don't intend on reading it. I am fascinated by Brand's opinions on the Government and the way it goes about exercising its powers but that doesn't mean I agree with him.
I cannot get my head around this idea that to not vote is better than to vote at all.

Now my history is not brilliant but I am pretty sure that most, if not all, of the wars we have had over the last 100 years was to secure democracy in the modern world. Democracy, for the few of you who don't know, is the idea that society has the right to vote for who is in charge of the nations Government. And yet even though millions have died for this right, people are not only using it, people are arguing against it!

Never will an entire nation not vote. There will always be a new man (or woman) in charge every time an election comes about. There will always be people who will vote and if it is a very small number then a very small number of people will have put a particular party in power. There will always be something to moan about when it comes to politics and if you want to have any right to argue, you HAVE to vote. I will not accept that 'not knowing' or 'not liking' politics/ politicians is a viable excuse. I am 20 years old and this is my first general election that I am able to vote in. I am still completely unaware on who to vote on and even though I live in a Conservative stronghold, that does not mean I will necessarily vote for them. I am absolutely willing to hear every parties opinion and make my own verdict. But if you turn to me and tell me they are all knobs who don't understand the country then emigrate. Please leave this country and go to North Korea or any other nation where voting is not allowed or riged. Ask the people of those nations if they would like the right to vote in a fair and just manner. Or read up on Communist Russia, Nazi Germany etc and tell me that not having that right to vote is correct.

I cannot stand people who say they won't vote. It is a ridiculous and immature point of view to claim that 'we can make a change' by not. You can have a much more powerful say in simply ticking a box than standing outside parliament for days on end stating that those in charge are old fashioned and single minded. As far as im aware, England really is not that bad for living in and if I can have a tiny say in how it might run then I am more than happy to go along with that.