‘You Have No Right To Complain’

Thursday, February 17th, 2005

Today’s Dilbert cartoon made me relive all those moments during the last elections here in the Netherlands.

It’s actually becoming the standard way people react when I say I don’t vote: “But vorting is important! You’ve been given the right, the privilige to vote, and you should use it. And if you don’t vote, you don’t have the right to complain either!”.

They think they have the right to take away my right to complain? Ha! In their dreams. Self-rigious bastards. Why can’t I complain because I’ve not voted? Why? Give me one good reason!

Democracy as we know it is a sham, which is why I refuse to participate in it. The government does as it damn well pleases and couldn’t give a shit about what the people want. “It’s in your own best interests”, they say. Yah, right.

But what of those people that do vote? Let’s look at what they’re actually doing. They participate in a system in which they give their consent to a party to decide what’s best for them. Suppose John Doe goes out to buy some snacks? I tell him “Hey John, bring some for me!” “Well, ” says John, “What do you want?” “Oh, I’ll trust you to know what I’d like”, so he brings me back something I don’t like at all. Am I now in a position to complain? No, I’m not.

Ergo, people who vote do not have the right to complain! They have given that right away the moment they decided to participate in the system of democracy.

People who refuse to participate in that system (me) because they believe it is flawed have all the right to complain. They have chosen not to give that right away and let some other body decide for them.

I dare anybody who can give me one good, argumented, logically sound reason why people who haven’t voted don’t have the right to complain, to email me.