Expressing My True Opinion
10 August 2006
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
I have two reactions to Norman Ornstein's proposal to lessen political extremism by making voting mandatory ("Vote - or Else," August 10). First, such lessening seems impossible: how many true radicals occupy elective office in the U.S.? When platitudes aren’t pouring from politicians' mouths, all that issues from them are contradictory statements aimed at pleasing as many people as possible.
Second, I refuse to vote as a matter of principle - the same principle that would lead me to refuse to express an opinion to an armed robber who offered me a choice of being threatened with his pistol or his shotgun.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
I have two reactions to Norman Ornstein's proposal to lessen political extremism by making voting mandatory ("Vote - or Else," August 10). First, such lessening seems impossible: how many true radicals occupy elective office in the U.S.? When platitudes aren’t pouring from politicians' mouths, all that issues from them are contradictory statements aimed at pleasing as many people as possible.
Second, I refuse to vote as a matter of principle - the same principle that would lead me to refuse to express an opinion to an armed robber who offered me a choice of being threatened with his pistol or his shotgun.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Tuesday May 1, 2007 at 10:16am