Would you vote if you had absolutely no idea about politics?

Hammer89

Everybody over the age of 18 is eligible to vote, but should they?

Personally, I've never voted. I was shamed by a family member for this in recent days, but I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not ashamed because the reason I don't vote is quite simple: I have absolutely no idea who the f*ck any of these people are, or what their parties do.

You might think I'm playing dumb - I'm not. I know as much about Fine Gael as I do about spending time in a Russian gulag. I lack knowledge and understanding of Irish politics at a very, very basic level. Because of this ignorance, I prefer not to vote rather than walk into the voting place blindfolded and effectively take complete guesses. This doesn't benefit Ireland. It's a wasted vote in my view and that's why no party will be getting my vote.

Is this wrong, or should I vote simply for the sake of voting? Voting because you think it makes you some sort of upstanding citizen is what I don't understand. To me, it kind of defeats the purpose, but I would like to know the opinion of others.

Conall Cernach

How can any adult function in Ireland without at least a basic understanding of Irish politics? What do you talk about at work?

fleet_admiral

The sad thing is, a lot of people in this country have NO idea about politics/voting etc...

johnnyryan89

Conall Cernach wrote: »

How can any adult function in Ireland without at least a basic understanding of Irish politics? What do you talk about at work?

I'd guess they talk about work maybe or sports or the weather. Lots of things to talk about really.

drunkmonkey

I'd vote Mattie McGrath if I hadn't a clue, love the way he wobbles Mr Jelly Kelly

OldMrBrennan83

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Conall Cernach

johnnyryan89 wrote: »

I'd guess they talk about work maybe or sports or the weather. Lots of things to talk about really.

I don't think I've ever gone a day without someone giving out about one political party or other.

kfallon

Conall Cernach wrote: »

I don't think I've ever gone a day without someone giving out about one political party or other.

The people you interact with must be some boring cúnts :pac:

Jack Killian

Hammer89 wrote: »

Everybody over the age of 18 is eligible to vote, but should they?

Personally, I've never voted. I was shamed by a family member for this in recent days, but I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not ashamed because the reason I don't vote is quite simple: I have absolutely no idea who the f*ck any of these people are, or what their parties do.

You might think I'm playing dumb - I'm not. I know as much about Fine Gael as I do about spending time in a Russian gulag. I lack knowledge and understanding of Irish politics at a very, very basic level. Because of this ignorance, I prefer not to vote rather than walk into the voting place blindfolded and effectively take complete guesses. This doesn't benefit Ireland. It's a wasted vote in my view and that's why no party will be getting my vote.

Is this wrong, or should I vote simply for the sake of voting? Voting because you think it makes you some sort of upstanding citizen is what I don't understand. To me, it kind of defeats the purpose, but I would like to know the opinion of others.

I'd admire this. Yes, it would be better if more people checked things out and helped ensure that Ireland got better and more accountable governance, but the main reason we need that is because far too many people vote without thinking for themselves, following a pathetic family allegiance, or for themselves, with the likes of O'Dea or Lowry sorting their medical card or planning permission.

So if you don't know what you're imposing on yourself and the rest of us, don't vote. I voted a certain way last time out and am sorry I did - looking forward to correcting the error this time.

The only downside of that would be that if by not voting you let some slimy fecker in that you me vote could have kept out.

The Backwards Man

In my experience, people that don't vote have no qualms about moaning and whinging about 'the gubberment' at every opportunity.

Voting should be compulsory imo.

OldMrBrennan83

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fleet_admiral

I wonder will all the people who voted in the so called 'Equality' referendum be as quick out of the traps this time round?

Jack Killian

The Backwards Man wrote: »

In my experience, people that don't vote have no qualms about moaning and whinging about 'the gubberment' at every opportunity.

Voting should be compulsory imo.

Unfortunately it would be a "least worst" choice most of the time. And it would probably result in begrudging voting where the biggest eejit/crank got a #1

Admittedly we get that anyway. But it would make it worse.

KingBrian2

fleet_admiral wrote: »

The sad thing is, a lot of people in this country have NO idea about politics/voting etc...

Who's fault is that? People have to take time to inform themselves and if they don't care their entitled not to vote. We are not like Australia or Belgium which expect compulsory voting. Let people chose for themselves, if they don't care not my concern.:pac:

Trouble with Ireland is we don't have anyone who can stir it up like Donald Trump!
He's a mental case, but he knows how to appeal to a vast amount of people.

The Backwards Man

Patww79 wrote: »

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It's more like being asked do you want more services or to pay less tax every five years and you go 'yeah, whatever, not buvvered like, all the same ra ra ra' and then come crying to us when you're paying 75% tax and can only get a post office open for three hours on a Thursday afternoon.

Jack Killian

Bam Bam Mickey wrote: »

Trouble with Ireland is we don't have anyone who can stir it up like Donald Trump!
He's a mental case, but he knows how to appeal to a vast amount of people.

Enda ? Well, bar the stirring.... and the appealing....

OK, as you were...

fleet_admiral

Bam Bam Mickey wrote: »

Trouble with Ireland is we don't have anyone who can stir it up like Donald Trump!
He's a mental case, but he knows how to appeal to a vast amount of people.

Ming?

Speedwell

Conall Cernach wrote: »

How can any adult function in Ireland without at least a basic understanding of Irish politics? What do you talk about at work?

Hey, I married an Irishman and moved here from Texas a couple years ago. I didn't marry him because I was an Irish politics wonk. At work, we talk about work. I'm especially frustrated because my politics align with parties that have OTHER politics that I wouldn't touch with someone else's ten-meter pole. It's moot this year because I don't qualify to vote at all, but no, no, NO, NONONONO, I would not vote in an election I knew f-all about, any more than I would buy a house without looking at it first.

XplaygirlX

No. I'm not ar$ed about votin. Never was and never will be. Ive no instrest in politics. Never did. So don't care

OldMrBrennan83

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jackwigan

Imagine if you were denied the opportunity to vote, if you had zero say.

You might feel differently about it then.

The Backwards Man

Patww79 wrote: »

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The best argument against democracy is a five minute discussion with the average voter
*bangs head off desk*

Speedwell

The Backwards Man wrote: »

The best argument against democracy is a five minute discussion with the average voter
*bangs head off desk*

The way I usually put it is, "no matter who gets elected, a politician takes office".

OldMrBrennan83

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OldMrBrennan83

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jackwigan

Speedwell wrote: »

The way I usually put it is, "no matter who gets elected, a politician takes office".

Who am I supposed to vote for? The Democrat who is going to blast me in the ass? Or the Republican who's blasting my ass

Zaph

Bam Bam Mickey wrote: »

Trouble with Ireland is we don't have anyone who can stir it up like Donald Trump!
He's a mental case, but he knows how to appeal to a vast amount of people.

I, like most people I reckon, would not see that as a problem.

shanered

If you don't have a clue who to vote try something like this:

http://smartvote.ie/

It'll show which politicians are most in line with your thinking on some issues, worked out pretty much in line with what I was thinking anyway...

Speedwell

jackwigan wrote: »

Who am I supposed to vote for? The Democrat who is going to blast me in the ass? Or the Republican who's blasting my ass

Depends how you feel about your ass, I suppose. The good thing about realizing that it's a game you can't win is that you can at least preserve your dignity by voting for the candidate that keeps the worst lot out.

OldMrBrennan83

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HugsiePie

I have no idea about politics but unfortunately Im made vote by my dad for his candidate of choice-yep, 21 years of age and I still do exactly as Im told :rolleyes:

Speedwell

Patww79 wrote: »

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I used to feel like that. But not voting is like saying, "I'm just going to lie back and think of England." You should at least say, "hey, you f***ers are lousy in bed".

onmebike

I don't see how being interested in politics is a reason not to vote. To me, politics is the technical/messy middle ground between voting and how the country is run.

I don't know much about politics and economics etc. but when I look at a manifesto and read what it says what they intend on doing with real things - tax, public services, upcoming topical issues etc. etc., then I decide who to vote for. Obviously things can change when it comes to forming a government and two parties have to drop some of what they want, but you have to make an effort. It's probably not perfect and no system probably is, but I can't understand doing nothing because "it won't make a difference". Yes it does.

shanered

Patww79 wrote: »

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Better vote the ones who at least say they stand for the same issues in the same way as yourself than the ones who don't.

That's not to say you don't have a point...

thee glitz

XplaygirlX wrote: »

No. I'm not ar$ed about votin. Never was and never will be. Ive no instrest in politics. Never did. So don't care

Ok, you're excused.

ArnoldJRimmer

Fair enough if you're not going to vote as you can't make an informed choice and don't want to just vote for the sake of it.

However, I feel that as a citizen of any country, a person should ensure that they read up on candidates/ parties so that they are in a position to make an informed decision. The fact that such a huge percentage of the country don't vote or care who they vote for means that any kind of meaningful change is unlikely.

To Elland Back

Personally, I think the problem is that families don't discuss everyday issues over dinner, cup of tea, out for a walk etc.

I've always encouraged my boys to question why things are as they are. It might be why they see their beloved grandparents on trollies in A&E or why I have to work overtime to pay bills or why gob****es abuse certain sections of our society. It forms educated opinion and with that comes an affinity to others who represent the same values within the political process

OldMrBrennan83

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InReality

a few years ago the green party leader john gormley got elected by a ( more or less)few hundred votes. Then they got in with FF , got some of their policies implemented and signed off on the bank guarantee. if gormley didn't get those votes at least some things - maybe even the bank guarantee- would have changed.

so voting can matter quite a bit , but the cause and effect do get fuzzy.

XplaygirlX

thee glitz wrote: »

Ok, you're excused.

Thanks

I don't know why some people are giving the op such a hard time.

It's the people who don't know anything about politics and DO vote that are the problem, and there's no shortage of them; just look at tipp and Michael Lowry.

Jack Killian

Patww79 wrote: »

But none of them will stick to anything that they say now. It's all a game and once it's over the winners can do what they like.

So we should vote for the ones saying the opposite of what we want!

StewartGriffin

The OP is right. Voting for the sake of it when you have no real clue why you are voting is not just dumb it's also dangerous.

At the moment, and it has been the case for many years, the electoral field in Ireland is so level that a vote is really nothing more than an exercise in peoples constitutional rights. This blandness of political ideology is not a bad thing. When it gets more extreme you get to the level of Trump v Sanders, or more radically, Extreme right wing V extreme left wing. So we shouldn't really complain about our boring candidates because it means we are in a good place.

For referenda it is important to vote if the topic is important. For our general elections, your vote doesn't really matter. If candidate A doesn't get in, Candidate B will, and it will make no difference to this country because the wheels of government will keep turning thanks to the Civil Servants who have always turned them.

The people who give out to those who don't vote, are generally just dickheads, especially those who drool at the mouth and proclaim that you have forfeited your right to have an opinion about anything.

If the choice was between Hitler and Stalin these fools would still turn out to vote for one of them.

freshpopcorn

I'd have a bit of interest in politics. I wouldn't bore people with it. Most of my political views I'd keep to myself or we might might have the odd chat about it at home. I'd prefer reading a paper/online thought than watching it on TV.
I do get tough why people don't have any interest in politics.
1. Some people feel no matter which party they vote for things will stay about the same.
2. People can have a negative experience of politics gowing up. If you turn on any local/national radio station. There's always somebody moaning and whinging about politics and they'd do your head in.

Kiwi in IE

I think people have a responsibility to know what they are voting for. We arrived in Ireland a few months before the last general election, and although I was eligible to vote, I didn't because I had no real idea at that stage how the political system worked, or anything about what any of the parties stood for. That was the only time I have ever not voted in any election I was eligible to vote in. Will definitely be voting this time.

To Elland Back

Patww79 wrote: »

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Don't be so patronising. They have achieved, they both have degrees now, they question everything in life and are confident in the direction they are going. They avoid the 'rotten' options and, like many young people, they will change this country for the better.

OldMrBrennan83

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Adorable

You're not alone, Hammer89. I don't know anything about Irish politics either. Like, zero. Zip, zilch, nada. Honestly, I've never really had an interest in Irish politics and I don't think I ever will. It's not something that was talked about in school or among family and friends, so I've never really thought about it. The fact that I know more about Barack Obama and Donald Trump says a lot.

Having said that I'll probably start reading up on our politics and our system of government soon. I want to vote, but I also want to know who I'm voting for. I don't think not having an interest in politics is an excuse to not know anything about it. The candidates/parties and laws that we vote on affect everything that happens around us. I think the least we can do is to be informed about them and to vote based on that.

I disagree with the people that say voting should be compulsory. Would things be better if more people voted? Yes. Does that mean we should all be obliged to vote. No. There's still going to be people who won't bother to inform themselves and just vote for the sake of it, which is incredibly foolish, not to mention dangerous.

KingBrian2

In my view people should vote when they are better informed and armed with the facts. Very important not to be arm twisted or ignorant of party positions.

Donald Trump

Hammer89 wrote: »

Everybody over the age of 18 is eligible to vote, but should they?

Personally, I've never voted. I was shamed by a family member for this in recent days, but I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not ashamed because the reason I don't vote is quite simple: I have absolutely no idea who the f*ck any of these people are, or what their parties do.

You might think I'm playing dumb - I'm not. I know as much about Fine Gael as I do about spending time in a Russian gulag. I lack knowledge and understanding of Irish politics at a very, very basic level. Because of this ignorance, I prefer not to vote rather than walk into the voting place blindfolded and effectively take complete guesses. This doesn't benefit Ireland. It's a wasted vote in my view and that's why no party will be getting my vote.

Is this wrong, or should I vote simply for the sake of voting? Voting because you think it makes you some sort of upstanding citizen is what I don't understand. To me, it kind of defeats the purpose, but I would like to know the opinion of others.

Hmmm. You're giving me good ideas here....Methinks your Enda has missed the opportunity by not taking advantage of the financial crisis to set up his own Irish Gulag.

Oh, wait, sorry. It's there already? Yeah yeah, sorry. Leitrim. I forgot about it....... Well everyone does