BELLOWS FALLS — I didn't go to town meeting, but I went to vote today.
I vote only on the issues that I feel strongly about, or that I know are the right thing to do (like funding local charities, libraries, etc.) and which are in danger of losing funding if I do not vote. On some issues, I just do not have an opinion, so I do not vote on those articles on the ballot.
I really don't think it matters who the town clerk (or several other town positions) is; either way he/she's going to be filing papers in an office doing the job. If he/she doesn't, he/she gets “fired” next election.
Because Rockingham is a small rural community, everyone knows everyone and everyone's business. Unfortunately, it becomes a popularity contest in a town this small.
I don't know what most of these positions entail as far as the job description goes; how in the hell am I qualified to hire them for the job?
Here in Bellows Falls, it's all about who knows whom and how respected they are in the community. It's social class awards ceremony. Town Meeting here is just a huge drama-fest where a handful of strong-opinioned people (the far-right or far-left wingnuts, usually) who actually have no clue about the job duties or article being voted on harass other people in public by asking loaded questions or criticizing every proposal.
So, if I say that I didn't vote on most of the issues this year, don't assume that I don't care, but rather know, that actually, I have just given up on the town and its ability to sustain itself.
The few people who share my views (which are based on what would be better for me, in my low social class) who get into these positions have very little power to change things because the powerful/popular people in the higher-ranking social class are elected alongside them, and they negate each other's work, effort, and ideals.
In effect, the whole town is stagnant because of the small and closed nature of the community, where the largely divided social class rules the town's action (or rather, lack thereof), regardless of the actual detriment or benefit to the inhabitants.
Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should, nor does not voting imply that someone is anti-democracy.
Voting is one of the more obvious acts of freedom and of choice that exist in the U.S.A. Choosing to vote or to not vote is also an obvious act of freedom and choice.
When I am forced to vote, I don't consider that very free. The fact that so many people do go into the election and just mark something because they feel they have to as their duty indicates a lack of freedom, not an expression of it.
I believe that the outcome of a democratic election is more important than the act of democratic voting. I would prefer to abstain from causing harm with my ignorance than to subject everyone to a result based on my ignorance.