A Sardine on Vacation, Episode 11
The League of Non-Voters

The Sardine is proud of the fact that he's never voted in an election.

Logged-In Public: We couldn't let such an uncivic, unpatriotic statement pass by. How do you expect freedom and democracy to prosper when public figures like yourself provide a poor figure for today's young people? How can a nation get the best leaders when its best citizens don't take their public duties seriously? You should be ashamed making that statement aloud…more ashamed than for publishing that last column!

But…

L-I P: Theoretically, we don't mind that you don't vote. This is America, after all. What your opinions are, theoretically, are no concern of ours. It's another thing that you feel obliged to force your obnoxious opinions down our throats.

But….

L-I P: You're a cynic who's given up on politics and probably everything else. Politicians are too corrupt for your unsulllied nature. As hairpieces, weathermen, the tabloids. What next? Hospitals?

But….

L-I P: You're going to tell us your vote doesn't count, it's a drop in the ocean of votes. Especially in national elections when its one vote in an ocean of one hundred twenty million. A vote being nothing more than a sardine, if not plankton, among bluefish, flounder, tuna, salmon, and sharks.

But….

L-I P: You can't understand how entering a voting booth actually revitalizes the spirit of democracy, connects you in a small but firm way with the great government out there that dictates most aspects of our lives. Don't get us wrong! We don't love government, and would curse it on most occasions, but if we gotta have it we might as well have a say in who's running the show.

But….

L-I P: Or maybe you don't think it matters who are elected? Conservative, liberal, libertarian, socialist. Politics is politics. The world's always going to be a certain way. We see your point. But wasn't Reagan different than Mondale? Kennedy from Nixon? McKinley from William Jennings Bryan?

But….

L-I P: Think about it. Ike instead of the Egghead. FDR instead of Hoover. Lincoln instead of Douglas. God, that saved our country!

But….

L-I P: You've taken a virtually defenseless position.

I wasn't trying to defend myself.

L-I P (skeptically gazing at the little fish): You can't escape. We got you squashed in the corner of your tinny-tin-tin.

By saying I don't vote doesn't mean I sit by and watch elections passively. As a conscientious non-voter, I like to know whom I'm not voting for. Thus, when the candidate is elected, I'll know what I got for my non-vote.

L-I P: Sounds more like nonsense.

I take not voting very seriously. Why I should want to cast a non-vote in vain? It's a meaningful non-vote. In many cases, the non-votes neither candidate gets are more important than those cast for him.

L-I P: Don't make us laugh.

I'm not alone on this. With many people across the nation, we've formed the League of Non-Voters. Each campaign season we hold debates among candidates for office.

L-I P: That's absurd.

Each election our group represents one of the largest blocs of voters, especially in the primaries when the non-votes pile up. We represent a tacit approval of whoever is the winner.

L-I P: How do you figure that?

More than anyone, the non-voter trusts democracy. We exercise a second option in an election. An option essential for democracy. Indifference bordering on disdain.

L-I P: But….

When one is forced to vote, or has to pay a fine for not voting, or is led to believe by the assorted propagandists that voting is the only expression in an election, then the mature system of freedom and rights is being subtly subverted. One should feel absolutely no pressure to participate in politics. We non-voters say this despite our love for politics.

L-I P: But….

The League of Non-Voters does not advise people not to vote, only to make a wise decision before casting the ballot. Don't vote in ignorance. Besides, too much interest in politics coarsens a nation, like the United States after the Civil War. And the non-voters are not deceived by the fabrication that every vote makes a difference. We don't care whether a vote decides the election or merely goes with the landslide. Just removing ourselves from the spin-drying doublespeak of political operatives, pundits, and newscasters will cleanse our soul.

L-I P: But. . . .

Finally, by active non- participation, the non-voter can cheerfully avoid the charge of being hypocritical when he or she criticizes those in office that we hadn't voted for.

The Sardine's essays, articles, and stories have appeared around the Internet in the last few years at 3 A.M., Facets, Eclectica magazine, Fiction Funhouse, The Fiction Warehouse, 5_trope, and several film journals. Who and what he is probably will be revealed at various points through the articles appearing at this site. If you want to reach him, his address is popesixtus@aol.com.