Sympathetic Magic

[billroper]

catalana mentioned that one of the topics they're covering in her classes this semester is why someone should bother to vote in a population with a large number of eligible voters, given the vanishingly small chance that one vote will make a difference. Since this came up at about the moment that she was getting out at the train station, I didn't get a chance to hear the reasonable explanation of why a person should vote.

My unreasonable explanation for why I vote is that I view it as a form of sympathetic magic. If I bother to go out and vote for a candidate or issue that I care about, other voters who agree with me may somehow be stimulated to do the same thing.

Of course, living in Cook County, I have a problem finding voters who agree with me, but that's a different problem altogether. :)

Comments

[tattercoats.livejournal.com]

Bill, thank you for putting clearly something I've struggled to convey for years. Yes. Sympathetic magic indeed; I apply this to recycling, putting rubbish in bins, any kind of action which would benefir from wider practice. A sort of 'If I do it, I somehow represent all the other people who may make the same decision / try that bit harder' concept.

But you put it better anyway, so I'll stop there. Thank you!

[callylevy.livejournal.com]

And sometimes it directly encourages other people to do likewise! *grins*

C x (in an increasingly green home)