Number 197, November 4, 2002   Why I Will Not Vote! by Patrick K
Martin  Exclusive to TLE  This Tuesday, November 5, a very
important event will occur in my life. For the first time since
1984, I will not vote in an election. I have never failed to
vote before, not once. If I was eligible to vote, be it a
general election, special election, primary, you name it, I
voted. However, as of this election, and from now on, unless our
political system changes, or unless I and/or L. Neil Smith stand
for election, I will not vote.  This is not a decision which has
been made lightly on my part. In fact, I have come close to
doing so before, but I always relented, in the hope that somehow
my vote would make a difference. I have persisted in the normal
delusion that to vote in our society was to exercise my personal
authority over our government. I believed that my failure to
vote was an abdication of my responsibility to make my voice
heard. Now, I have now admitted to myself that my participation
in the electoral proce