I'm sure all of you are well aware that I don't have any interest in politics. Consequently, election time is very annoying to me because of all the propaganda and people getting pissed about things that will never affect them. Perhaps the biggest thing, though, is the reactions I get from people when they discover that I don't vote. I have noticed that people become much more annoyed about me not voting than if I had decided to vote for the party opposite their affiliation.

I was at work the other night and I was talking to my boss at work, who is possibly the most conservative person I know. He asked who I was voting for, and I decided to test out my "Theory of Political Apathy Intolerance." I told him that he wasn't going to like my answer (to imply I was voting Democrat) and he didn't get pissed, but just looked a little disappointed, and seemed to accept it. Then I told him I wasn't voting and he launched into a rant about how people should have to vote and other junk I didn't really pay attention to. Though his reaction was more extreme than most people's, it is demonstrative of the population (people I talk to) as a whole.

So why don't I vote? Here are the reasons:

1. I don't care about politics and I'm uninformed.

I simply don't have any interest. I'm not interested in spending my time reading up on issues and political agendas and junk. I don't think there's anything wrong with it; in fact I'd encourage people who do vote to be more informed. But for me, voting for someone or something that I know nothing about seems like I'm voting just to say that I did to my friends, rather than actually caring about what I'm voting for. People who are a combination of both politically outspoken and uninformed irritate me more than anything else.

2. I don't want to wait for hours in line while enduring more stupid propaganda.

I heard about my friends waiting in line for a really long time to vote. And I'm sure the booths are packed with arguing idiots. No thanks.

3. One vote doesn't make a difference.

In a nation of approximately 305,583,054 (US Census), one vote simply doesn't make a difference. Even by state population, it still doesn't. It doesn't matter who I vote for - the outcome will still be the same. By no means do I think that my vote should count for more than anyone else's, or that it should have any more power than it currently has. However, to me, it's worthless to spend any effort on a situation I cannot change.

Inevitably, someone will pipe up and say "But if 50,000 people like you changed their mind and voted, it would make a difference!" And they are right - it would make a difference. But there is a fatal flaw in that argument, and it is that I am not 50,000 people. Even if I give in and go vote, that still leaves the other 49,999 people that didn't. If my decision to vote also caused the other people to vote, then I'd definitely do it.

Now that the election is over, we're moving into the whining phase, complete with threats to move to Canada and predictions of the collapse of the U.S. In this case, it is the Republicans, but four years ago it was my liberal friends at Miami when W won. It's really all the same to me. Basically, I get annoyed at any politically outspoken person, regardless of affiliation. I look forward to things finally quieting down.