(I am reposting here on Substack a portion of something I wrote back in 2018. Important to note how much has stayed the same since then, and what has gotten worse. It is also important to note that this was written before COVID1984.)
Dear America, If Voting Made Any Real Difference, They Wouldn’t Let Us Do It (2018)
Even if you vote, or not, and your party wins, or not, the police state will continue. Constantly voting for the lesser of two evils has manifested into an inevitable cycle in which the government gets more powerful and the people get poorer. But don’t take my word for it, just look at the current state of America.
50 percent of all American workers make less than $30,533 a year. In the meantime, however, the politically connected elite made up of the 0.1% have increased their wealth by more than $1 trillion in the past year. One trillion also happens to be the same amount of money that the US taxpayer has had placed on their backs in the form of government debt in the last year too. Coincidence? Probably not.
“But if the republicans keep the house we will make America great,” right? Or, “if the dems take the house, we can finally have nice things,” right? Wrong. The reality of the situation is that no matter who gets elected, these politicians have already made a Faustian bargain to keep the police and warfare state in power.
In today’s political climate, it is no longer a question of which party is in power, or which party will usher in totalitarianism. Instead, we have reached a point of simply waiting for the hammer to finally fall.
Donald Trump ran on a platform to make government smaller, get America out of these endless wars, cease the chaotic and out of control spending, and rein in the overreaching executive. Instead, he’s continued wars, increased spending, and followed in his predecessor’s footsteps in using his position of president like a dictatorship with executive order after executive order—most recently threatening to alter the very Constitution with one.
One could make the argument that Trump is not a politician, never has been, and is truly out to buck the system and bring about an era of change. While that is debatable, it is also possible. However, as I have said many times, abstention is a legitimate political stance to take in the face of such overwhelming collusion and corruption.
It is important that every American honor this nation's true values by following their heart and voting for who you truly believe in, even if that may be no one.
The concept of abstention dates back to the Founding Fathers and the creation of this country. An extensive paper written by Grant M. Hayden entitled, Abstention: The Unexpected Power of Withholding Your Vote, breaks down this idea and shows how this practice has been used throughout history in just the type of situation Americans currently find themselves.
"In some cases, people abstain when they are indifferent among the electoral choices, or when they judge the benefits of voting to be outweighed by the costs. The underlying assumption is that abstention, unlike voting, is neutral with respect to the outcome. But while the contours of the right to vote have been the subject of a tremendous amount of scholarship across many disciplines, abstention, despite its obvious connection to the right to vote, has been almost completely ignored." - Grant M. Hayden
Abstaining from a presidential election, or any for that matter, is your right, (for now), despite the clear effort to make it seem somehow unAmerican. When in reality it is a quintessential part of American History. When confronted with all the damning information about not only the two pre-approved and pre-selected choices in this two-party system, but the system in its entirety, the entire facade begins to come down.
Once we begin to see beyond the deception, it's easy to see the two-faced nature of this political game. A great example of this was made clear in an old video by HighImpactFlix (that has now been removed from history by YouTube with no explanation) showing Obama, who is clearly a supporter of Hillary Clinton today, playing the game while running against Clinton in the past. Showing the glaring contradictions between what he says now and what he said about her while running.
So which does he really believe? Neither? Both? Or is that he has simply fallen into line.
At the end of the day, when you feel that pressure, that is indeed being placed on every American, to go out and vote, regardless of your understanding, your passion or your desire, realize that you are being manipulated to fall in line and further legitimize what has become no more than an elite-run selection process, framed absurdly as "democracy in action." And if history is any judge, regardless of the outcome, Americans can hope for things to remain the same at best, and at worst ... well, I would bet that is becoming very clear to everyone.
Politicians Now Threatening And Encouraging Violence In The Land Of The Free (2018)
At the end of the day, you’re forced to choose between two, self-serving candidates who will say whatever BS they have to gain/retain power. People think they can use their vote to get “the right guy in power.” But the truth is, the new guy just turns into the last guy… because the whole system is broken.
The government spends almost every tax dollar it takes in to pay interest on its debt and on entitlements like social security and Medicare. And the government’s own projections show the country going only deeper and deeper into debt. So any choice leads to the same set of dire, economic consequences. And by voting, you’re saying you accept the current system. You may have your gripes, but you ultimately believe it’s fair and it works.
The reality is, there are far better ways to actually vote. For one, you can vote with your feet… that’s something I did a decade ago when I moved abroad. But that’s not for everybody… some people can’t just move. But you can also vote with your dollars. You should take all the legal steps at your disposal to reduce what you owe the government. If you don’t like the candidates, simply stop participating in the system. Stop giving them resources to squander “for your benefit.”
Remember, the government spends YOUR money, not theirs. So if you want them to stop wasting money, stop giving them so much. So while everyone else lines up to vote in the midterms, then proudly posts a picture of their “I voted” sticker on social media… Just remember, there are better ways to make your vote count.
Logic Behind Not Voting
It’s pretty easy to comprehend the initial logic behind the pointlessness of voting when you just look at the distinct level of corruption that takes place in government today. Decades of continued wealth inequality and power centralization don’t exactly offer any glimmers of hope that the democratic process is just, and represents the will of the people.
If that study is not enough logic to point out the uselessness of voting today, just look at the last five presidents, Three republicans (Trump, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush) and two democrats (Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama). With minor adjustments for current group think and wedge issues, they all carried on with the same destructive policies.
They all started imperialists wars over seas, and committed massive war crimes; they all destroyed the value of the currency through terrible monetary policy; they all furthered the trend towards power centralization/wealth inequality; they all enacted laws to further government/police/spying power; and most importantly they all sold their country out for personal gains.
Some want to act like the politicians are just doing their best, it’s the other team’s fault, or claim it’s just very complicated to understand the ins and outs of US politics. We cannot be so naïve. The harsh reality is that a criminal network sits at the top of the pyramid, which has engulfed both the left and right side of politics to form one team of true power: Team Establishment.
While people misplace the root causes of the problem by picking puppets in the phony left vs. right paradigm, it’s business as usual for the criminal puppet masters behind the scenes. The masses don’t even know who or what they’re fighting against, resulting in little to no real resistance against the true problems. This has to change.
Psychological Hurdles
This is where it gets extremely tough for people. Logic is one hurdle to climb, but getting over the psychological and emotional aspect of not voting is another beast. Naturally, people want to view their country and its democratic process in a favorable light; therefore, it is a painful dose of reality to swallow when one figures out that they have been manipulated, their home doesn’t represent what they thought it did, and their vote no longer matters, if it ever did. To make matters worse, society often looks down on those who do not vote as ungrateful, uneducated and unpatriotic. The combination of the two results in an inner egotistic pride to vote and an outer social isolation for failing to vote, both of which have devastating effects on the human psyche. Essentially it traps many people into a psychological box that the system has built for them, using pride, guilt and fear as the invisible chains that control them into thinking voting is the only solution for change.
Psychologically something is fundamentally wrong with people when they logically know the game is rigged, yet still choose to participate, as if the outcome makes any difference. Society is stuck in this game that is on a never-ending loop; still believing that this time voting is going to get them out of the loop and on a new and better path. It’s like constantly and passionately looking to the outcome of a coin flip to decide on important topics, when in fact the coin is the same on both sides. The problem is not the coin flip, but instead the people giving it legitimacy by constantly participating in the flipping. Voting in a rigged game is what gives it legitimacy. If large masses of people simply didn’t vote, ceased to pay attention, and refused to obey the process, the rigged institutions would lose all credibility and quickly change or risk becoming obsolete. Some form of energy is needed to sustain corrupt systems, and inevitably the people are the direct source of fuel that keeps it running. Remove the participation and the game stops.
Savior Complex
No savior is coming to save the people. It is now, and has only ever been, the people who can save themselves.
It’s so easy to get emotionally attached to the idea of having a hero save the day. It removes us from feeling personally responsible for the atrocities committed, or being allowed to take place -- except of course when we must momentarily climb free of our apathetic stupor, and vote for one of two pre-approved “heroes”, then retreat back to the comforting suffocation of the subtle but ceaseless reassurances that we have fulfilled our patriotic duty by choosing not to acknowledge how utterly redundant it all is, and how little actually changes.
No one individual, one bill, or one action, will ever be the one thing we have all been waiting for to save the day. We must stop looking for that savior, it does not exist. We must instead realize that we are the only ones who can change things for ourselves.
Action: What Can I Do Then?
This is where the biggest point should be made and it cannot be stressed enough.
NOT VOTING DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE NOT POLITICALLY ACTIVE!
This is so important to understand because many people equate the civil disobedient act of not voting with doing nothing politically. When In fact, it should be the direct opposite; meaning the political system is so screwed up that all citizens have a personal responsibility to move outside the system and change it. This is a call to action that should be embraced so that future generations can prosper, or at least have a fighting chance. People need to get more directly politically active in order to manifest a system that works for the people, instead of pretending like voting along party lines is changing anything. It’s time people understand that there are many political actions besides voting that can be far more powerful and bring about far more change than any type of vote.
Here are three concrete actions that people can take right now in order to change the system. Each one is a hell of a lot more politically active than checking off a person's name in the ballot box.
1) Get involved at the local level or state level.
There are many strategies to bring about change, so the point here is not to say don’t ever vote, but more so to say do not participate in a rigged game. If you can see all of the obvious reason we have pointed out today, demonstrating that the system is ultimately a fraudulent one, ask yourself why you would still then choose to participate. However, if you still have faith that the system can be salvaged, then the local and state governments may still be salvageable.
2) Practice agorism by operating outside the system.
As much as humanly possible, operate outside the corrupt aspects of the system. This includes transferring your money outside of criminal banks, getting into other asset classes besides fiat currencies, not paying taxes, eating locally and organically, canceling your cable package, quitting jobs that are unethical, boycotting institutions that constantly demonstrate corruption, and stop giving your dollars to entities which you are against. The more energy we give to the system, the better it functions.
3) Speak out and spread knowledge.
It is not always the big actions which are the most important; sometimes it’s the culmination of many small individual actions which result in big changes. Getting the masses access to real knowledge is the most important part of the movement right now, so it’s important to seize every opportunity to speak out and spread information. The flow of information cannot be stopped if it is constantly being spread. The more people begin to speak up, the harder the controllers of the system will find it is to hide. Their weak information and lies will not be able to hold up logically or psychologically once enough people awaken and speak truth.
Always remember that political action is not confined to voting. In fact, some of the most powerful political actions have had nothing to do with voting. Martin Luther King Jr. or Mahatma Gandhi didn’t use voting to ignite a civil rights movement, just like we don’t need to rely on the elections to bring about real change. It’s time people realize change is not coming from the top down, it happens bottom up. So instead of worrying about the elections, challenge yourself to get out and take direct action towards change. It really is the only way a true paradigm shift in consciousness will ever come about. We have the power and we don’t need representatives to use it!
Why Your Vote No Longer Counts & The True Power Of Abstention