All your votes are belong to us

I have something of a love-hate relationship with politics. Maybe not as dramatic as that sounds, but the sentiment is still there. For example, I enjoy political thriller movies like All the President's Men (1976), Frost/Nixon (2008) and The Ides of March (2011) and all the intense conversation between men in suits and political jargon that they entail. On the other hand, whenever anyone in real life starts talking, or more usually arguing, about politics my attention tends to wander to less grumpy subjects. Fact is, unless you've had some kind of briefing beforehand, any conversation about politics is going to be filled with odd terms, weird names and lots and lots of rules and regulations that only affect you once they've passed through numerous other entities and organizations. In short, real life politics kinda sucks.

The only politics I'm interested in.

With that being said, something happened the other day that got me, if only for a moment, interested in politics on a personal level. I wasn't in a directly political conversation, but the question was nonetheless posed to me and a few others. 

"If you were offered £50,000 a year, but in exchange you had to give up your right to vote, would you take it?"

For some, I'm sure, this question is a no contest. The right to vote, to 'have your say' on government issues is a sacred thing and to give it up would be giving up your freedom. I have nothing but respect for those people and their dedication to local and national politics. For me, though, the question took a little longer to think about.

On the one hand, as someone who doesn't really believe in any kind of fate, that things just happen and no future event is set in stone, it is entirely possible that my vote could one day be the difference between world peace and a second Hitler, or a less extreme version of that scenario. I consider myself fairly capable of the kind of success that would bring at least £50k a year in, so is it really worth giving up something so potentially vital to our nations security so I don't have to work for money? I don't know, but I'd hate to be that guy; as the tanks roll down the street and the flag of the new Republic is being raised, realising that the Crab-People only got into power by one vote, and realising that vote could have been mine. Although, maybe I could tell the Crab-People that I'm the reason they got in, and they'll reward me with some kind of upper-management position. I might be too tempted to eat them though. I've heard crab is delicious, and to be honest there's no better time to find out than when you're surrounded by them during a morning meeting at Crab-People HQ.

However, I also have resign myself to two truths about the world I live in. One, no one in British politics seems to have any real competence or idea about how to get the country back on its feet, and two; money, for all its evils, does very much make the world go round. And imagine all the things you could get done if you were getting £50k a year without having to work. Charities, creative projects, all kinds of things can be done when you've got money and all the time to spare. Invest it right, and suddenly your making £75k, or a £100k a year. Guaranteed money, especially nowadays, is not something to be sniffed at. As responsible citizen and pillar of the community Tony Montana says, "In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women." (Scarface, 1983)

What it comes down to is this; how much power do you believe your vote has, and do you value that power over a guaranteed yearly salary?

For me, some would say unfortunately, the money is the way to go. Maybe I'm too cynical ahead of my time, but at this point in my life, for £50k a year I could live happily and comfortably. I could take on all the creative projects I wanted full time, hang out with my buddies much more often and not feel much of a sense of loss over giving up my right to vote. Sure, things in the government will still annoy me; I won't be happy with all of the decisions they make, but I would hope that in the circumstances I would have made peace with my situation.

Hope this was at least somewhat thought provoking for you, and that you enjoyed it for what it was. I apologise (but not really) if I seemed too dismissive of politics, it just fills me with a big ball of 'meh'. The question is interesting though, I think. Leave your thoughts and answers, even if it is just a yes or no, in a comment; and as usual, a very good day to you, Sir's and Madam's, until we meet again. Or until the Crab-People take over. Any day now.