Minutes to Memories

I voted today. And part of me wonders why.

Not to say that I think it’s a bad thing. Big names in Restoration Movement history like Barton W. Stone and David Lipscomb didn’t vote for religious reasons, claiming to be citizens of only one kingdom, and that the Kingdom of God. I admire the purity of their convictions, and their theology has some merit, but I still don’t buy it. I think voting is a good thing, even after studying the Bible.

The part of me that wonders why I voted does so from the “did-it-make-any-difference” standpoint. I voted in two races today, both U.S. Congress seats, and in my neck of the woods both winners are known before the first ballot is counted. Come tomorrow, Senator Trent Lott (Republican) and Representative Gene Taylor (Democrat) will both have another term. I could have voted in two local races, but I didn’t know anything about either race, so I chose not to flip a coin (plus, I didn’t have any change). Other than that, the rest of the candidates on the ballot ran unopposed.

No, I didn’t feel like I accomplished much in the voting booth today.

But I voted anyway, and I think I was voting for voting.

How’s the quote go, democracy is a horrible form of government, except for all the rest? Well, something like that… I happen to agree.

The reason we despise the word “politics” is not that is inherently evil (how else would one even know how to choose leaders in a representative democracy as large as ours without politics?), but because our society values money so much. Politics is a power struggle, and we’ve all been taught that money equals power. Oh, there may be moral arguments for both leaders and policies, but in the end, it is money that talks.

But I still vote for voting. Even if nothing was accomplished by my having done so today.