I have been encouraged to
vote several times with emphasis on the fact that sometimes
elections are very close. So I imagined that my vote had an
impact on one of the issues or races. I imagined that it is an important issue or race.
I imagined that the issue or race on which I vote will go the way I vote because of my vote, and that without my vote, it would be a tie. This gave me a
profound sense of
power, but it scared me. It suddenly became my job to decide which way the issue or race should go, and I worry that I might miss something. After all, why are all my fellow voters split so evenly? The issue or race must be a very complicated or divisive one. It is imperative for me to know exactly what I'm doing.
Is it right for me to be
wary of this
responsibility?
I have listened to the arguments on both sides of several issues. The
spectrum of
intelligence that I sense from both sides ranges from common propaganda to highly
lucid and reasonable explanations.
Has your vote ever been in error or does that happen only to other people, like me?
Does it scare you that if your vote decides a race or issue and it is in error, that you and at least half of your fellow citizens are responsible for the resulting
damage?
How can I shed the feeling that our political system gives every voter more responsibility than anyone should ever have to bear?
I would like to be responsible for the people
I love and no one else. Then I would be
free. Is this too much to ask?