Considering a Vote

I know someone who has never voted and doesn’t plan to start tomorrow. I also know some people who feel their votes don’t count because they’re outnumbered by the other party in their states. For these people, I present a passage from David Foster Wallace’s Consider the Lobster:

“If you are bored and disgusted by politics and don’t bother to vote, you are in effect voting for the entrenched Establishments of the two major parties, who please rest assured are not dumb, and who are keenly aware that it is in their interests to keep you disgusted and bored and cynical and to give you every possible psychological reason to stay at home doing one-hitters and watching MTV on primary day. By all means stay home if you want, but don’t bullshit yourself that you’re not voting. In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard’s vote.”

[Art edited from a Robert Indiana–style illustration by JP Trostle.]

Caring for Dogs: Another Trailer Story

Remember the woman who insisted on riding for 26 hours in a trailer with her menagerie of hooved critters and a parrot? Here’s a different take on travelling with animals:

I saw this spare, metal trailer hooked to a spacious RV at this year’s Bluegrass Stockdog Trial (a competitive event where dogs herd sheep according to whistles and commands from their human). Yes, while the humans travelled in comfort, the Border Collies were confined to a small space that was open to the elements (which at that time was a deadly, hot sun) and hugged every bump and hole of the road. You can probably guess how I felt about those humans.

I started planning how to open a civil discussion with these people about their dogs’ needs—perhaps suggest that they trade up for a trailer equipped with suspension and climate control. Then I noticed a sticker on the front passenger door that read:

OBAMA
A Good Reason Why Stupid People
Shouldn’t Vote

Hmm. A civil discussion suddenly seemed unlikely. I resorted to telepathically sending my sympathy to the pooches.