In the 2000 election I was running for Congress and was asked by the
editorial page of a major newspaper here in Arizona to encourage people
to vote. They were very concerned for some reason about the
participation trends and thought that I was on the 'same team' as them.
After the arrests of protesters here last year of the Occupy Phoenix
effort I was in communication with one of the editors that is now chief
of staff for a city councilman... what I was saying all of a sudden made
a lot more sense now that current circumstances made it clearer that I
predicted what was coming.
Voting never brought freedom to anyone
By Ernest Hancock
 |
| Ernest Hancock |
There
is concern in the halls of government and the media that the ongoing
decline in voter participation reflects apathy. More likely, I think,
voters are figuring out how the system really works.
All people
act in ways they perceive to be in their best interest. Politics is
about trying to convince voters it is in their best interest to vote for
candidates who claim to represent their ideals.
Is it working? For the voters best interests?
Libertarian
activism operates on the belief that most of the American people know
that freedom is good for them – including freedom from social and
economic engineering imposed on them by swarms of government agents sent
to harass them and to eat out their substance.
Since merely
voting for more freedom and less government has never produced anything
of the sort, it is small wonder that this method is losing credibility
and being abandoned by a liberty-starved populace.
I remember that
it was the promise of less government that sent Ronald Reagan to the
White House with the overwhelming support of the people. The promise of
fundamental reforms sent people into the streets in 1992. In 1994 the
promise of a contract with the American people, that a new congress
would reduce government finally gave both houses to the Republicans.
In every case the American people were lied to, and the voters know it.
What could astute potential voters be told now that would convince them they can make any real difference at the ballot box?
Even
putting aside some major concerns: that vote-counting computers are not
isolated from outside communication and possible control; that even
court-ordered recounts of a computer-tabulated election are not verified
with a manual count; that tens of thousands of unvoted ballots are
mailed out and never accounted for; that the justification for
automation is speed – yet we still wait days and weeks for final
results; that legislation prevents simple verification of the computer
program with a manual comparison after the election; that many potential
voter’s views are not represented on a ballot tailored to provide
special advantages to parties that have been institutionalized as part
of the government (crippling competition before it gets established); …
even with all that aside, we have a populace that instinctively knows
that they are irrelevant to the process.
As an advocate of freedom, I
have found that the political process allows an effective method of
spreading the freedom message. For the few short months that people may
be paying attention, libertarians have a chance to help them understand
new questions that should be asked.
Rather than, “Would local control of public education be preferable?” Ask, “Do you support separation of Child and State?”
Rather than, “Which form of income tax is better?” Ask, “Do you believe the government has a right to your income?”
Instead
of, “Should we increase defense funding?” Ask, “Do you believe we would
reduce threats to the United States by no longer trying to socially or
economically control people around the world?”
Rather than, “How
do we provide healthcare for children of the poor?” Ask, “How much less
would healthcare cost if the industry were deregulated?”
Instead
of, “How do you propose to get handguns out of the hands of criminals?”
Ask, “How do you plan to eliminate victim disarmament laws so people can
protect themselves?”
The issues are influenced by the questions
asked – and by exactly how the questions are worded – by the media, the
pollsters and the politicians.
This influence is now, however,
being steadily displaced as individuals use the internet to ask their
own questions, and seek answers from people who have first-hand
knowledge.
Influence of government and traditional media has been
dwindling to the point where Libertarians will soon be begged to
participate in National Presidential Debates – so someone will watch
them!
But by then, the freedom movement will have already taken to
the streets with growing numbers of individuals demanding to be left
alone, regardless of any vote totals – whether accurate or not.
Note: This
article was written during the 2000 election cycle and has been
published in newspapers small and large in 2002 and 2004 as an
explanation of what is certain to take place – To be even more informed
and frightened with updated information please put the following words
in your web browser: electronic vote fraud diebold blackbox voting –
that many words will limit the web sites to 143.
“Freedom’s the Answer … What’s the Question.”