Only Subjects Honor Corrupt Government

Why are we planning to get around a corrupt system when we have the right to do what we want in accordance with the law?

I debated running these thoughts in my political journal but feel that the crux of them is most appropriately expressed in this journal.  Americans are once again amid another quadrennial war and contest of national survival to find out who the winner of what has increasingly become a zero-sum game will be.  Inside that war, there are many skirmishes and battles taking place over 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Citizens who choose to engage in this system by casting a ballot must figure out how they wish to do so within the confines of a given state’s laws.  I have spent way too much bandwidth explaining why I think those who are able should cast their votes exclusively on Election Day, which Congress designated as the first Tuesday following the First Monday in November.  That date falls on November 5 this year.  Not only is it the most secure way to vote in a system overrun with maladministration, it is also a surefire way to put your money where your mouth is if you believe one of the main reasons we have issues running elections in this country is because they take place over too long of a period, with too many unsecure ways to cast votes.  Both sides of the political spectrum have voiced these exact concerns for decades, typically when their opponents are the beneficiaries of an overly complicated and non-transparent system.

This article, however, is not about why Election Day-only voting is the best way to vote, but rather about how you are the one who calls the shots about how you vote, even if you want to mail your votes to government bureaucrats (and I realize some of you have no choice depending on your state), or if you want to come out to the polls and vote in September for an election taking place in November and trust that no one is reviewing how your votes were cast beforehand (since government would never break its own laws, right?).

For those of you who are going to be out of town or on shift on Election Day, in the hospital for an operation, or otherwise unable to vote – by all means, vote early.  That is why people came up with windows for early voting to begin with.  If you must mail your ballot in for circumstances outlined above, then, mail your ballot in.  My issue is not with someone exercising personal freedom within the confines of the law, but rather with people conforming to something they don’t believe in because they are seeking to circumvent the potential for their ballot to be discarded or prevented from being cast at all.

Trying to outsmart and outmaneuver a system of corruption and disenfranchisement is not the work of a free people.  Begrudgingly consenting to the notion that you should engage in needless practices that jeopardize election security when you are able to vote on Election Day is not cunningness, it is cowardice.  Don’t come at me with complaints that I’m calling you a coward for voting early or voting by mail if that is your only option – I’ve already addressed that; however, I can barely read comments under an election-related post without finding people who think their voting center will be out of paper, the machines won’t work, or lines will deliberately be made painfully long, so to be safe, they should vote in a way they do not agree with just to make sure it gets in.

You want it straight?

If you are an American citizen, you have the right to cast a ballot how you want in accordance with the law, including if you wish to cast your ballot in person on Election Day, whether that is because you (correctly) believe it’s the best practice, because it your family’s tradition to do so, or just because you damn well feel like it.  To be denied the materials or right to vote in person is disenfranchisement and a violation of your rights as a citizen.

To plan around disenfranchisement is to act as a subject, not a free man.

A free man may choose to vote by mail or vote early, as that is his choice, even if it is not the best practice.  A man who shows up to vote on Election Day and is hindered from casting a ballot is not a free man, but rather a subject, if he consents to the disenfranchisement, goes away, and files a formal complaint that may never be addressed.

If you show up to vote on Election Day, which is your right even if whiny government employees tell you that you had six weeks to vote beforehand, and face any resistance whatsoever, you should be willing to be hauled away in handcuffs before you’d be willing to go home with your head hanging low and your ballot uncast.  It is the government’s sworn duty to safeguard the rights of the citizenry, and that includes having sufficient materials and working equipment on hand, with sufficient personnel to process the flow of voters.  It is not your fault nor is it your problem if they have failed to plan, and your very first action upon any resistance should be to immediately call the Sheriff and the local police department to let them know you are being disenfranchised and demand immediate engagement.

Four for the Free

·      Only subjects tailor their actions and restrict their legal options at behest of government, or out of the fear of maladministration.

·      Free men act when and how they please in accordance with the law.

·      The government must be held accountable, and that includes using the police to force them to honor your rights.

·      Your stand for freedom may not have a blissful outcome, but it may be the only way to get the point across that we are the ones responsible for upholding freedom and passing it down through generations.