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Voting at the forthcoming general election
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It's not apathy. It's just the realisation that there will probably never be a party that would include in its manifesto everything that you would agree 100% with.
I've never voted in 21 years of eligilibility to do so, in any form of election(government, council etc) for the reasons I've stated.
There are certain policies from each party that I agree with, however these will never be manifested in a party combining all three.
Lastly, I doubt there would be a mainstream party that would re-introduce the death penalty and National Service, both of which I frimly believe in.
It's your right to abstain but you are never going to find a party that totally agrees with you. You won't even find another person that totally agrees with you. You have to look at areas that are important to you and weigh up the parties based on that. I mean you'll be doing well if you can find a party that agrees with 60% of your beliefs.
You're not suffering with political apathy because you care enough to look into and think about things. If you and three of your closest friends sat in a room and discussed issues such as healthcare, immigration, personal taxation, crime etc etc I bet you would all have completely different opinions in many of those areas. Likewise, there will never ever be a political party whose manifesto you agree with 100%. Think about the issues that are important to you, be it education, crime, the NHS or whatever, and look into each parties' stance on these issues and vote for the party that most closely represents your view. That is the best you can hope for. This isn't meant to sound trite or patronising, but you come across as an intelligent person and it's a shame that people like you who care enough to think about matters choose to waste their vote.
I take it post number 10 is aimed at me!
Er, if I wanted attention by throwing my teddy out of the pram I'd do it in a far more overt manner. By not attending a polling station I think I'm certainly NOT seeking attention, unlike some oily politician with his fake platitudes.
As an ex serviceman who served to preserve the right you exercise at election time in a democratic society I consider myself something more than a coward. I'll remind you that it is currently NOT a legal requirement to vote and I exercise that right at polling time.
You'll find a lot of servicemen fail to vote as they have no time for people who cut the Defence budget to the point where they don't even have the kit to do the job and who send them to places where they would never dream of setting foot themselves, unless it were for a photo opportunity.