Voting, Betting And Optimistic Living
Any time we get to throw our vote behind something – anything from an Idol contest to an election – and we do, we still believe our opinion counts for something. Anything.
Ultimately, voting is optimism. Just like betting.
As long as we still care to vote – or bet – it means we still believe life can get better, that life’s glass still offers us a half-full advantage, that somehow the future will get better a bit better if the vote goes our way.
Researchers into political thought have found that we are, in fact, more likely to vote against someone we hate than for someone we like. Just last September abcnews.com reported on a study of voter attitudes spanning a 24-year period in the United States led by Jon A. Krosnick, professor of psychology and political science at Ohio State University.
Krosnick’s research shows, frighteningly, that voters generally give a new candidate the benefit of the doubt. Even if they don’t quite know a candidate, they want to like, and vote for, a newcomer – especially if they dislike what an incumbent is doing.
But, if they don’t like either candidate, then don’t vote all, because either way they do, they believe they lose. If they at least detest one, odds are that at least the alternative will signal change for the better. (Although I must say this theory does not explain the Carrie Underwood outcome.)
Percentages of spoilt votes are, therefore, the most telling of how many people feel they are getting a choice. They ruin their votes because they don’t think they count for anything. A spoilt vote is the voter’s way of saying: Don’t waste my time with these odds, I’d rather cut up my dollar bills into tiny bits and mix it up with the kitty litter.
A spoilt vote is much more than a sign of someone not having the courage of his or her convictions. A spoilt vote is a glass half-empty. It is pessimism at its worst; a deep-seated belief that reality truly is essentially evil, and that bad outweighs any happiness life can offer.
A spoilt vote is the belief that things can only get worse, no matter what you choose.
Ultimately, voting is optimism. Just like betting.
As long as we still care to vote – or bet – it means we still believe life can get better, that life’s glass still offers us a half-full advantage, that somehow the future will get better a bit better if the vote goes our way.
Researchers into political thought have found that we are, in fact, more likely to vote against someone we hate than for someone we like. Just last September abcnews.com reported on a study of voter attitudes spanning a 24-year period in the United States led by Jon A. Krosnick, professor of psychology and political science at Ohio State University.
Krosnick’s research shows, frighteningly, that voters generally give a new candidate the benefit of the doubt. Even if they don’t quite know a candidate, they want to like, and vote for, a newcomer – especially if they dislike what an incumbent is doing.
But, if they don’t like either candidate, then don’t vote all, because either way they do, they believe they lose. If they at least detest one, odds are that at least the alternative will signal change for the better. (Although I must say this theory does not explain the Carrie Underwood outcome.)
Percentages of spoilt votes are, therefore, the most telling of how many people feel they are getting a choice. They ruin their votes because they don’t think they count for anything. A spoilt vote is the voter’s way of saying: Don’t waste my time with these odds, I’d rather cut up my dollar bills into tiny bits and mix it up with the kitty litter.
A spoilt vote is much more than a sign of someone not having the courage of his or her convictions. A spoilt vote is a glass half-empty. It is pessimism at its worst; a deep-seated belief that reality truly is essentially evil, and that bad outweighs any happiness life can offer.
A spoilt vote is the belief that things can only get worse, no matter what you choose.
Peaceful Pig's two cents' posted 5/09/2006 12:36:00 am
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