David McElroy

I’m worried about the mental health of some of my friends at this difficult time. Some portion of them are bound to be in deep depression by tonight.

Considering how polarized most people have been about the presidential election — and considering the fact that each side of the mainstream honestly believes that it’s Armageddon if the other side wins — there are going to be a lot of potentially suicidal people tonight.

Are the supporters of the losing candidate going to be jumping off of bridges? Are they going to be slashing their own wrists? I’m worried about them, because they don’t have experience dealing with this kind of crushing loss.

If you believe that the future of your world depends upon getting Mitt Romney or Barack Obama elected president, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. In this case, I figure it will probably be the Romney supporters on suicide watch, assuming that the projections hold up. But you never know.

I have a solution to this problem, though. They need to talk to libertarians and anarchists.

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Most educated and informed Americans will cast a vote for president by the end of the day Tuesday. I won’t be among them. I know quite a number of intelligent, informed and principled people who will also decline to vote. I’d like to explain my reasons — and I’d like to suggest that you consider joining us as non-voters.

For as long as you can remember, people have preached to you about your duty to vote. You’ve been told that a good citizen should vote. You’ve been told that it doesn’t matter who you vote for, as long as you vote. And you’ve been told that every vote counts. There are even elaborate emails that people spam each other with that tell all the alleged cases in which one vote could have changed history. (Never mind that the examples are a pack of lies. People who have agendas don’t need to worry about facts.)

The “majority rules” system is a civic religion, and voting is the ultimate act of worship. When you vote, you are showing your allegiance to the government, whether you intend to or not. The very fact that you participate legitimizes the system. Your participation says, “I believe this is a morally right way to decide who gets power.” After all, if you’re willing to vote for your candidate’s right to hold power, how can you be claim that the other candidate doesn’t have the right to hold power when he wins?

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I’ve had a cold for a couple of days, but it seems to be turning into a sinus infection. As a result, I really haven’t felt like writing. I had planned to have my last article about the election Friday, but it’s either going to show up later in the day Friday or maybe even over the weekend.

I’m going to take some NyQuil and go to bed to sleep for as long as I can. I’ll get back on my current schedule when I’m back among the living.