I always believed that except for those people who have hardcore political beliefs, the reason most of us vote has got less to do with politics and more to do with perception. In an ideal leader, the single most important characteristic that one should look for is competence. But would we know that from facial features or the tone or body language? It’s human that we quickly form an impression about those we see, even before we’ve had a conversation with them. That impression then colours whatever else we learn about them, be it their hobbies or their political abilities. When we think we are making a rational political judgment, we could be, in fact, judging someone partly based on just an impression we have formed, from say what his or her face looks like. For instance, I have no idea about Priyanka Gandhi’s political abilities but I will vote for her.
Of course, there are many things that could subconsciously affect voting decisions, right from promised freebies to sex scandals to how much has been spent on the campaign and so on. But the bottom line is that your vote is never going to make any difference in a large national election. If your favourite candidate is going to win, he or she will win even if you don’t vote. My conclusion is that, contrary to popular belief and government propaganda, your vote actually does not count. So why do millions of people spend their own time, energy, and money to cast a vote that will not make any difference in the electoral outcome?
You might say, “But what if everybody thought that way?” The reasoning goes that, if everybody thought that voting was irrational and a waste of time, nobody would vote and democracy would collapse. People often believe that what they do or how they think influences other people and others will think and behave like they do. So, people believe that if they bother to vote, everybody else in the country will also vote, and democracy will thrive. But if they don’t bother to vote, then everybody else in the country will think like them, nobody will vote, and democracy will collapse. This lop-sided thinking reminds me of a piece of writing I saw a long time back on the wall of a graveyard. It read, “This graveyard is full of people who thought the world can’t go by without them.” Much like how a dead person doesn’t really matter to those alive, your one vote doesn’t really matter to the outcome of the election. So whether who you have voted for, has won or lost, my advice to you would be to not take it personally.
