Does one vote count? Probably not but when combined with those of others it can make a very large difference to the winner.Voting for the person that supports my views I believe is very important. Those who feel to smart to vote will be ruled by the dumb.Current pres is an example!

One should no complain if they did nothing to elect the person who supports their view

I vote, for whatever that's worth. Otherwise, no. Not really. No money, no influence, no connexions, no charisma. I'm so easily ignored, I should change my name to 'Terms And Conditions.'

I'm involved but affecting change is not something that is easy to do. Until we overturn Citizens United, and can securely vote again, democracy is illusory.

Individually we don't..as a group yes we do..my vote adds to total votes cast for a candidate..I vote in all elections..my small voice becomes a roar..

I sure as hell hope so.

The problem with our system is that it caters to the fanatics. If someone tries to act like they have some sense and take the middle ground, they take it from both sides. Neither side wants to have any middle ground. They both want it their way and neither side will listen to anyone with a different opinion. There should be only one party and anyone that can't work well with others should be dismissed. That way, the people in the middle, with a little sense, would run things and do it much more efficient. As a middle of the road guy, I hope I give a few people some perspective. Whether they grow from it or not is up to them.

I take it one conversation, one person at a time. People who don't say anything, or even worse, people who discuss by yelling and insulting, never change a single mind. You have no idea who you influence with a quiet, logical and friendly approach to simple, individual conversation. I hope that has some kind of positive influence, and makes a difference. And think voting makes a difference too.

feel pretty tiny

No, no one single little bit these days.
Years ago I did in local things, new schools, police stations, having roads sealed and such. Now, nothing.

I can only control my vote, no one else's. However I can connect and share info about politics, economics, etc. with many people and our influence can have an effect.

I think so but there is a big big "yes, but" to this

If you have some small thing you want, something not many people care about: then yes you can make a big difference. I am really into space stuff and usually when I ask my rep and senators to vote a certain way on a space bill they do vote that way.

No

I'm here in Texas and if you've ever seen a pile of red ants floating on the water, you'll realize that it starts with one ant, then 2, then four etc, and that is how I think each vote matters. We have no way of knowing how many of the other party are going to vote, so our goal is to just keep adding more and more ants to the pile until we become a land mass.

[QUOTE = [bbc.com] ]

Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy

The US is dominated by a rich and powerful elite.

# So concludes a recent study by Princeton University Prof Martin Gilens and Northwestern University Prof Benjamin I Page.

This is not news, you say.

Perhaps, but the two professors have conducted exhaustive research to try to present data-driven support for this conclusion. Here's how they explain it:

Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.

In English: the wealthy few move policy, while the average American has little power.

The two professors came to this conclusion after reviewing answers to 1,779 survey questions asked between 1981 and 2002 on public policy issues. They broke the responses down by income level, and then determined how often certain income levels and organised interest groups saw their policy preferences enacted.

"A proposed policy change with low support among economically elite Americans (one-out-of-five in favour) is adopted only about 18% of the time," they write, "while a proposed change with high support (four-out-of-five in favour) is adopted about 45% of the time."

On the other hand:

When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organised interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the US political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favour policy change, they generally do not get it.

They conclude:

Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association and a widespread (if still contested) franchise. But we believe that if policymaking is dominated by powerful business organisations and a small number of affluent Americans, then America's claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened.

Eric Zuess, writing in Counterpunch, isn't surprised by the survey's results.

"American democracy is a sham, no matter how much it's pumped by the oligarchs who run the country (and who control the nation's "news" media)," he writes. "The US, in other words, is basically similar to Russia or most other dubious 'electoral' 'democratic' countries. We weren't formerly, but we clearly are now."

This is the "Duh Report", says Death and Taxes magazine's Robyn Pennacchia. Maybe, she writes, Americans should just accept their fate.

"Perhaps we ought to suck it up, admit we have a classist society and do like England where we have a House of Lords and a House of Commoners," she writes, "instead of pretending as though we all have some kind of equal opportunity here."
[/quote]

None but I do go and watch a few speak just to see the ones that DO have a brain

By myself, I can't. But, if I join with that person, that person, then person, etcetera adnauseam, WE can accomplish one helluva a lot!

Sure. Like at 2 am this morning I solved poverty. Now I just have to organize an event for 30,000 people and sell tickets for a million dollars each.

No, in my opinion, the government controls everything. We like to think we're in control, but that's a delusion, same as The God Delusion.

It may only be a small difference, but if I gave into voter apathy, then others woudl make the decisions and I'd have no say at all.

No, I always vote, but am currently in the UK and have been to rally for proportional representation. I used to go to a lot of rallies when I lived in a city; for gay rights; reproductive rights; union rights etc. I was a member of a party until they ran a campaign that was based in falsehood and then I had to opt out.

Now I support things through online groups such as 38 degrees and parliamentary petitions.

Having a vote once every few years is as good as it gets I guess. I do appreciate that and hats off to the women that worked so hard for me to get it.

I probably can, but I think I'd have to do something like show up to a political fund raiser with a gun and set a new mass murdering record.

If the system isn't changed then anyone's vote isn't worth the paper it used to be printed on.

No, neither do groups.