Remember Not to Vote

Not all the foolish statements and wrongheaded thinking during political campaigns come from candidates and their supporters. As the time for an election approaches,  one usually can count on getting pious exhortations from people in the media for everyone  to do his duty and get out and vote.  That is not merely  not right. It is the opposite of right. People who do not think  about political principles or who have not  taken time to learn where the candidates and parties stand on the issues  or who  make their decisions on feelings and emotion have a responsibility not to vote. They should stay home and leave the voting to those among their fellow citizens who know what they are doing. If they have to say anything about it, journalists and talking heads on TV should be urging people to be sure to think and learn before voting, rather than extolling voting itself as a requirement for civic virtue. For people who have not done the thinking and studying to enable them to cast the “informed ballot” are best fulfilling the duties of citizenship by refraining from voting and should be complemented rather than fussed at for doing so