Every few months – what is it now, two years for “off elections” four years for Olympics … I mean, national elections, and some old person or European conducting a poll asks me “did you remember to vote today?”

I used to lie.  “Yes, in fact I did vote,” I would lie.  “I will later tonight,” I would fib.  I felt bad lying to these well-meaning boobs.  However, I could and cannot not bring myself to vote.   I haven’t voted since the war started.  Sorry about this, but I have joined the tens of thousands who don’t vote but “apathy” does not even come close to why I don’t vote.  Apathy doesn’t make one wish for Molotov cocktails and swinging officials from lamp posts.

“I haven’t voted since the war started,” I said in the packed elevator on my way to work.  How the hell did I tell the truth, I wondered to myself.  I should have lied as I always do.  A look of horror was all about me on all the early morning faces.  “He said ‘War’ as if there is a war going on” I could hear the passengers psyches say (ok, ok, dramatic interpretation not actual psychotic condition).  On the mask of my inquisitor, her wrinkles and foundation only intensify the look of horror as each cell that had pledged allegiance “under God” since she was six told her to puke blood and rip my face apart.  “Someone will be appointed,” I added, “whether I vote or not.” Ok, I totally didn’t need to rub it in, but I had broken the seal. I know we live in the GREATESTCOUNTRYEVER even if many of us are getting screwed over every day by the rich who control our nation.  I know we live with free press (corporate media), freedom of religion (wait, aren’t we libruals supposed to not believe in G/g/o/_/d/s/ess/dess/desses/dessessesses), and a free market (Walmart, NAFTA, Wall Street ) and I need to be grateful.  People died so that I may enjoy democracy.  No, people died to ensure a Republic asshole.  They did make this country, but Democracy is something we still need to work towards.  And, by the look at the unemployment numbers, media spin on the banking crisis as a “cycle in the markets” and illegal wars, do I need to vote?

Today, the life, liberty, and property is not what it seems.  These things are controled by powers so huge, a little change does not go along way (hello, a Clinton still in power?).  Do I vote?  No, I don’t vote for you people.  I’ll vote when I see my people running for office.  I went out with millions of others and railed against the needless Iraq war, called congresspeople when the Florida election was stolen, pushed back the police during the Republican National Convention, stickered, flyered, write-ed, sign-ed, called, spoken to Derpeople, attended protests large and small and what does it matter…?  Pull a lever once a few years? Trigger, yes, lever, not any more.

I got my political education. Watched the entire city turn to bullshit, then the nation, then the world.  Watched funding cut at home so that the American Empire could grow military spending for wars we did not need.  Heard about the billions over Baghdad and watched yet more factories close so that our management class can get bloated.  Worked education watching our children being distracted by consumer products and fake education, medicated and theripized into their seats.  Listened to stories of rigged elections overseas on NPR but our own was not covered as an emergency, but a “debate.”  Watched as the nation inflated money so that our ink and paper system that is out of control and TARP and bail outs and Cash For Clunkered semi-nationalizations that will be paid by our grandchildren.  Default loan swaps so complicated they can explain exactly what it was in a moment.  Yet, we’re educated that these “complex instruments” were not even understood by bankers, so how could we little dumbasses understand it.  We weren’t taught math in school.   (Ummm, here’s a shot.  Banks take mortgages, and then sell these to investors, and then they bet that the mortgages will fail and sell that bet too…. think I got it.  I mean, regulation-wise it’s not on paper here, not do I know the fine print, but if I said I was going to create an army of robots the size of dust to kill puppies – we don’t need to know how the fucking dust mite robot army of puppykillers works to understand we must stop this army before it can be built.)

This illegal government here needs my vote? Blackwater needs my vote?  People who stole Florida need my vote?  The people who were compliant in 9/11 need my vote?  Corporate America needs my vote?  Walmart?  The private contractors in Iraq?  The dead children in the Mideast will come back to life if I vote?  Israel will dismantle the open air prisons of West Bank and end their Apartheid with my vote?  The USA will get out of Pakistan with my vote?  The prison-industrial complex upstate New York and nationwide will free the 2.5 million with my vote?  My vote will work on restoring our American individualism – that used to include civic responsibility?  Where are the socialists, the anarchists, the Green Party, the Ron Paulists, the Campaign for Liberty kids, the Moonies, the raging Freegans on the tickets?  Off the stage.  Kept off my corporate media and the pay-to-play Oneparty system.  Local elections see candidates who are going for their 15th or 16th terms.  The mayor of Boston is headed for a 5th term.  Bloomberg has broken his own checks and balances and has spent 100 millions for a third term.

So, vote for rich people who will change those things rich people need. If that makes you feel your stupid little voice is heard.  The gerontocracy of gray Babyboomers fat and sassy on peak oil’s trajectory and a Corporate Socialism that privatize the profits and nationalizes the debt.  These fools create 10000084345 page documents so they can attach bullshit to dumb stuff, focus on gay marriage (who cares,the government should not be marrying anyone – hello, separation of Church and State), abortion (a health procedure at best not discussed in public), and – does flag burning still bring people out to shit in paper cups and throw it at hippies?  No?  Condoms?  No, we’re used to it.  Medical MaryJane?  Whocares?  Our current government – the system – is like a slow motion zombie film (yeah, fuck you Nancy Pelosi) and will continue to expand in size, collect unconstitutional taxes, print fake money, continue the unconstitutional Federal Reserve Banks, the unconstitutional intrusions into your Liberty, your private home, your private mind.  Where the fuck is Pogo when we need him?  Where are those masses who turned out to say no to the war in Iraq?  Silenced and marginalized.
So, Old Lady.  You voted.  You work for a program sponsored by a government that is out of control.  Perhaps A Neo-Con Republican (not to be confused with the actual text-book Republican party of old) or a Democrat (hard to tell the difference these days).  Does she have a rotting old banker husband?  A son/daughter who is also working investments?  Perhaps.  Rich and white, the system is working quite well for her.  Of course she votes.  It’s her system. If I vote too, she knows she is safe.  I mean, “democracy asked me and you answered,” she’ll tell me if I complain.  “We covered this,” one rotting old Babyboomer once said all the time around the office when she disagreed with the conversation and wanted to shut it down.

You vote.  We’ve covered this.

Me?  I’m saving up my fake money for when this all turns to craptasticland.  I want to be able to afford to vote, reload, vote, reload, and do it until I run out of votes or someone votes me out.