I have long had a fantasy about voting, one I think many people have as they consider the process and their own place in it. I imagine that the election is truly a dead heat, with the same number of votes for each candidate, and my vote is the one that decides the matter. I have never seen an election that close, nor even heard of one. It might happen in a club with 20 or 30 members, but not in a city, a state, or a federal election. Yet, the fantasy persists, and it continues because we all want to feel that when we vote, it really makes a difference. We believe we could see that difference in a really close vote. Every once in a while an election comes along that really is close, so that a candidate wins by a few hundred votes, and then the media says, "See, your vote does count." And when they say that, we know it is because we all suspect that our vote does not count. And on election day, as we drag ourselves away from whatever we are doing and start for the polls, we are probably asking ourselves, "Would it make any difference if I stayed home? Would anyone even notice?"
So, the issue is, why should I vote? Voting is an opportunity--in a democracy, we have the right to vote, but we are not required to vote. Presumably, we vote because we expect to achieve something by doing so. Voting is an opportunity our forefathers fought for and many of our ancestors died to protect. We know it is of great value, and we know it is much prized by those who achieve it. Still, we may wonder what the point of voting is today. When we vote in a small group, we have a sense of immediate participation and gratification--we know what we are voting for, we know the outcome, and we feel a direct part of the process. We may also feel that we make a real difference--perhaps the vote is close, and we know we contributed something important to our side, a feeling that is even greater if our side wins by only one or two votes. When we vote...