In the 21st century, the ability to vote is seen in most developed countries as a right. Most seem to take pride in the freedom to choose who their country’s leader will be and relish in debating over which of the candidates’ arguments is the most logical. All in the spirit of democracy. But is voting really as straight forward and logical as we like to believe?
Let’s first look at what being irrational actually means. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, for something to be irrational it must be “not based on reason, good judgment, or clear thinking”. This means that if a vote is “rational”, it must be a clear reflection of what people believe in, not influenced by any outside factors. To see if this is actually the case, we’ll be examining phenomena such as social contagion, emotions and the “voter’s paradox”.
Checking back in with the Merriam-Webster dictionary, we see that a vote is “the collective opinion or verdict of a body of persons expressed by voting”. And there is our first obstacle to a perfectly rational vote - when humans make decisions in the presence of others, they’re influenced by what others think. Social pressures affect people’s decisions all of the time. This is what the psychologists like to call this social contagion.
The university of Notre Dame conducted an experiment in 2008 on a sample of households with two registered voters. They knocked on the doors of each of these houses and presented them with either a placebo pitch on recycling or
Many American citizens don 't vote because they think their vote doesn 't count. This is a common excuse that people believe that whether they cast a vote or not, ultimately the Electoral College will decide who becomes president. But reality, the popular vote in each state determines which candidate the Electoral College endorses for that state. Therefore, your vote does count within your state, and
When I first thought about being able to vote I assumed that I would never participate. Politics and who run my country was never something I was, or thought I would be interested in. I didn’t understand why people were so
Once may not get the president he or she elected for, or the laws they wanted passed, but the Republican and Democratic Parties all have one mindset: ‘Make America a better country.” Therefore, nothing can go wrong with voting. Voting is a privilege that everyone should exercise because there is no wrong decision; everything is mean for the good of the country.
One day there will be a topic up for vote that the majority agrees, another it could be same topic but majority of the citizens disagree with it. If the people had 100% say and only their vote mattered then making the tough decisions would be even more difficult. What if the time comes where the nation needs to go to war. Can citizens really stand by it and make the tough call knowing someone in the household will most likely leave because of the vote they decided on. On the Republican side draws the possible situation of political corruptness where its like a game of cards. Politicians say something but plays are put in place where actions say something else. Both systems have its flaws but the point is what is the best government for now and the future.
The U.S. electoral system was created to give every citizen a say in who their elected officials should be, but this system has failed miserably. The right to vote is a basic right that needs be provided to every American regardless of such traits as political party, religion, or ethnicity. It is unethical to deny a person the right to vote and historically that has been a major problem in the United States. Our election system is completely corrupt and voter rights is not the only problem, strategically drawing voting districts is also a major issue. Our current electoral system is corrupt and unethical because of gerrymandering, the breaking down of the voter rights act, and voter ID laws.
The core values all citizens of the United States share are liberty, equality, and democracy. One right that falls under these guidelines is that of equal representation in the political atmosphere, namely voting. Undoubtedly, many Americans would consider the ability to vote fairly and freely a fundamental right granted by the Constitution. However, one would be amazed to realize that the right is not specifically stated anywhere within the original Constitution, any of its provisions, or the Bill of Rights. There are centuries of history and legislation that allows Americans the right to represent themselves as a “government by the people, for the people,” (Lincoln) like they do today. A long history of struggles to define what a citizen is, and by extension who has the right to vote, through various acts and amendments culminated to form a very structured and organized method in the election of a president.
In “Race and Beyond: Why Young, Minority, and Low-Income Citizens Don’t Vote,” Sam Fulwood claims, “Regardless of whether a favored candidate won or popular ballot initiative passed, our nation suffered because of the number of people who didn’t vote at all” (par. 2). I agree with Sam Fulwood and I believe it is so unfortunate that Americans don’t use this right. Voting is one of the most valuable possessions that Americans are given and yet they do not use. Many of the countries around the world do not grant voting rights to their citizens. These countries either have a dictatorship or kingdom which prevents citizens from voting. People need to understand the sufferings of those people who struggled for this right. When the United States
Allowing citizens to choose whether or not they vote, a practice restricted in certain democracies like Australia, can diminish the percentage of people who vote based on pure passion. Also, it is to be noted that citizens vote based on self-interest, and because governments aim to please the majority of their citizens, having everyone vote is a helpful tool in determining what would benefit the majority of people.
A few individuals contend it 's not worth trying to vote either on the grounds that they don 't care for the hopefuls or they don 't trust government regardless of which party holds the Congress. Numerous individuals are furious with the legislature and couldn 't care less to vote. Voting is both a privilege and an obligation as a citizen. Our democratic system is established upon the guideline of free and reasonable elections in which each qualified citizen casts a vote. You have the decision to make about whether to practice your entitlement to vote. In any case, it makes a difference. You have the last say.
III. Connect: We live in a democracy, so voting is our right it is important to vote for what we believe is right or wrong.
As a result, local communities have come together to initiate recycling efforts; the percolation of their enthusiasm has led to the widespread acceptance and even encouragement of recycling at both the state and federal levels. With recovered materials demanding higher market prices and curbside collection and commercial recovery on the rise, it is not unrealistic for Americans to expect to see nationwide recycling rates of thirty-five to fifty percent by the turn of
By voting tells candidates that they must back up what they promise to do to help make our nation a better place to live. It also allows issues addressed by citizens concerns on different issues in their state and communities. Going to the polls on the day to vote shows a good example for your children, friends, family, and neighbors.
The election process in the United States is a valuable process to the election of the proper officials to satisfy the people. The people run the country which is why we live in freedom because we control what happens with major decisions by choosing whom we want to decide these decisions. The whole country goes to vote on a certain day and by the end of that day we will vote to select who will run the country, state, county, or city political positions. The most complex decision and one with the biggest impact are selecting who the President of the United States shall be. We examine what their views are and who would do a better job. Then vote in our respected states with a certain number of electoral votes
A worker at a paper factory in Illinois states, “Then the issue was saving a tree. But trees are replaced. We plant them, we cut them, we plant them again” (Pendleton). The worker also said, “The problem now is the landfill situation, I think this one is going to stick” (Pendleton). By 1991 thirty-nine states and hundreds of local governments have passed laws or solutions requiring the purchase of recycled paper. According to Henry Miller, vice president of a paper mill said, “By volume, thirty-eight percent of solid waste in a landfill is paper and cardboard” (Pendleton). That paper and cardboard, if recycled could have produced that much paper or other products and it would have cleared up thirty-eight percent of many landfills across America. One major way to get people involved with recycling is the environment perspective. Not only would the landfills be cut down the environment gains a lot by having people recycle. So what do the states do to keep the environment clean? They enact laws against litter and waste. One way is the state requiring the deposit on beer and soft-drink bottles and cans (Prichard 8A). In those states, millions of bottles and cans that once were left on beaches, tossed in rivers and parks or thrown along the highways are being taken back to stores instead for a refund. A twenty-year old student from Michigan said, “Throwing away cans is like throwing away money to me” (Prichard 8A). These state laws must be working if people have this
However, this idea can be a divergence from reality, as in real life it is difficult or even impossible to find such agents that will make perfectly rational decision as reflected by irrational human behaviour. Though the assumption of individuals act rationally is important when analysing economics and interactions. This is because if we don’t assume everyone act rationally, if there’s a loss of welfare, we will not be able to decide whether it is the result of flaw in the structure or just because of irrationality.