Ignorance irritates me

This morning I got really mad at someone I don't know. I was standing in line at the grocery store, and this lady notices that I have my "I voted" sticker on, and that my twins happened to have "I voted" stickers as well. She laughs and comments that they may as well be voting, since all she ever does in voting is vote yes for the odd propositions and candidates and no on the even ones. I held my tongue as I left the store because anything else that would have come out would not have been kind. That kind of ignorance really makes me wonder why she even voted at all. Did she just want the free coffee at Starbucks? Did she get time off of work to vote? What is the point?

It isn't just ignorance, it's laziness as well. The information to make an informed decision is out there, you just have to look for it. It takes time and effort to create an opinion, and people just don't want to do that. I know, I used to be one of them. I didn't vote for quite a while because I didn't want to take the time to find that information.

It irritates me that someone would really take the time to vote not knowing what it is that they voted for. Personally, if I don't have an opinion on something, I abstain rather than cast my vote one way or the other. If I don't know anything about any of the candidates for a certain office, then I just don't vote in that particular election. I would rather not "accidentally" cast my vote for someone or something that I disagree with. To vote without knowledge is worse than not voting.

So, here I am, mad at abuse of the democratic process. I voted. No, my kids didn't make my decisions for me (though Micah does have an opinion). The girls got stickers, but that was just for fun.

I'm also irritated at people who form their opinions based upon comedy. Anyone who gets their information about elections from John Stewart or SNL alone is really dumb. Sure, I watch sometimes for comedic value, but not to get my information. You can't even get unbiased views from the regular news media, much less from people who are paid to be entertaining.

If you are going to vote, use your brain. If you choose not to think, please, don't vote. I don't care if you are of a different opinion than me, you should at least have an informed opinion first before voting. Don't just vote for the free Ben & Jerry's.

"Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue."
Proverbs 17:28

One more thing. If you don't vote, I don't care what your opinion is on the president, or anything else that you had a chance to vote for. If you don't speak up when it actually counts, you obviously don't think enough of your opinion to do anything about it, so why should I care either?

Oh, but if you are too young to vote but still have an (informed) opinion, I do care, and I would rather hear your opinion than the above-mentioned loud mouths.