Do you vote in political elections?
Habits repeat and reinforce each other. The more one engages in an activity, the stronger they’ll hold the beliefs that correspond with that activity. The more they’ll hold the values that associate with what one does.
Oftentimes doing something small can lead to cascading effects, regardless of whether it’s signing a petition, or volunteering for a library event. Therefore, the behaviors that you do are also the behaviors and lifestyle you’ll have in the future. Compounding lifestyle means before engaging, you should ask yourself what you’re engaging with, and how will it shape you.
I think voting is something that will ultimately lead to unhappiness and emotional struggle by nature of zero, or even negative sum outcomes. Elections are by nature adversarial and divides the world into those for and against us. Rather than working in environments where people must serve everyone involved, by consensus, instead we engage with an environment where one win makes another lose.
Another downside of voting is ideology. Aside from a general agreement that it’s good to remove scumbags and cheats from office, there’s little alignment on where people should go. One should be skeptical that their ideology is right, as most people won’t share views with you. Worse, even if you can find relative alignment, coalitions are big tent, encouraging you to identify with things you may strongly disfavor.
Finally, voting takes time and emotional energy. I know that my opinion isn’t a majority, and since my vote won’t sway any elections, I’ll theoretically get to free ride on someone else’s efforts.
Isadore Johnson's Website 