This post is for anyone in the throes of election fatigue and voting indecision.

Voting abstention is still regarded, by many, as sacrilege.

But the lesser of TWO EVILS... Oh, totally acceptable.

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The indoctrination to vote -- no matter how reprehensible or unfit the "choices" -- is so solidly established in human cortices, that evil has become normalized, to the point of EXPECTATION.

"Trump and Clinton rank as numbers one and two in unfavorability ratings of presidential nominees since 1956."

But high disapproval isn't stopping good, smart, kind people from purveying evil by STAYING WITHIN THE OBJECTIONABLE CONFINES OF A FORCED, FLAWED CHOICE. With the voice of our vote, we are saying:

• Yes, I agree.
• Yes, I consent.
• Yes, I co-sign.

Despite the immorality of governance AND documented voter fraud, belief that voting is a legitimate way to bring about desired change in our private and public lives remains a very strong auto-thought.

For those who still have faith in the state, and its thoroughly corrupt systems and processes, abstention will sound like apathy, laziness, avoidance or even an idealistic hallucination.

Not so.

Let's get clear on what a vote is. A vote signifies:

a vow or a wish; a formal indication of a choice between two or more candidates.

If you cannot, in good conscience, vow or wish for a candidate, then why make A FORMAL INDICATION that you DO vow or wish for them?? That's not strategic or pragmatic. That's collaboration with evil.

It might be too big an internal scandal for some to consider withholding their vote altogether. And in that case, you might appreciate Jeffrey Tucker's enthusiasm for the Johnson/Weld third-party ticket, which is "polling higher than any third-party ticket in a quarter of a century."

But if you've gone all the way to the end of the logical, humane, self-ruling, voluntaryist conclusion, then voting is one of many indoctrinated beliefs you eventually renounce... because you cannot UNsee Caesar's maniacal greed.

Nothing is RIGHTFULLY his.

But most things are LAWFULLY his.

My mind was formerly programmed to believe in the need for a governing state to rule my life, and the life of others.

Roads. Crime. Conflict. Old people. Sick people. Addicted people. Poor people. "Somebody's" gotta handle all those issues, right?

In the absence of oligarchy, complex things WOULD BE handled. And in superior ways. This is because a free market rewards the best available goods and services, while large, intrusive governments crush the best of its people (via coerced taxes, fines, fees, cronyism and bureaucracy).

A lifetime of bending my will to the power of ruling fools and devils resulted in me outsourcing my future to incapable, immoral hands. And because I had been properly taught my smallness, I went against my inner protesting voice, and convinced myself I was "doing some good" by voting against my conscience and good sense. I thought my only option was to go along with ploys and processes to which I never consented, and that sure-as-heck do not represent me.

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But, truth be told, voting was far less work than actually restructuring my life so it could become CONSISTENT WITH my values and principles.

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Being governed by others is enslavement.

Submitting to being governed without question or protest, is evidence of dangerous docility.

I can only spot that knee-bending docility so easily, because I once suffered so badly -- and so blindly -- from it, myself... feeling violently backed into a corner, and forced to either: fight, fly or freeze. Presidential voting, in my opinion, is the third option. It is the preserving of ways that hurt and harm the majority over which it presides.

The programming and conditioning to which we are subjected is relentless. It typically starts in utero (with well-intentioned Mommies who eventually perpetuate the disabling story of outer authority). The formation continues from wee early years in pre-school, and well on into adulthood. We are social(media)ized to get along. To do what others do. To not stand out too much, or be too weird or divergent. We are carefully, systematically taught to trade our truth for approval. Our fire, for finance. Eventually, we come TO RELY UPON OUR RULERS.

So much so, that it's hard for most people to even imagine life without them.

Do we really distrust ourselves so much, that we'd rather pass our power over to others?

Do we really believe we are so helpless, that we have to participate in a known evil??

When presented with an absurd question -- or one that has a false premise -- such as "Which eye would you prefer to lose?" know that you can either reframe the question, or starve it altogether.

Acting out our conscience is the most helpful thing any of us can do. And it's also the hardest... which is why this flawed system has persisted as long as it has.

Q: Well, if I don't vote, what do I DO with myself from now until November 8, 2016... and beyond? How will I replace that passive sense of accomplishment voting always gave me?

A: Rather than pour out vast amounts of energy and attention onto two platforms, every four years... PAY EXTREME ATTENTION TO YOUR OWN LIFE, every day for 1,460 days.

Claim responsibility for, and ownership of, yourself. Over the course of 1,460 days. Spread it out. Take baby steps. Make it easy on yourself, with little micro-tasks. Decide that, four years from now you WILL be a free person. You GOT this! Get your study on. Go down some rabbit holes, and immerse yourself in beautiful and empowering ideas. The ones below are just a starting point, and represent areas of study that started calling to me several years ago. Each, in its own subversive way, is an antidote to the state:

• Agorism - Thought and action consistent with freedom.

• Anarchy - We don't object to rules, just RULERS.

• Peaceful/Positive Parenting - One idea that we are, thankfully, evolving past is the view of children as owned, non-people, who are undeserving of dignity. Not surprisingly, such bullied children often grow into the kind of adult who, also passes on abuse and mistreatment of others. Peaceful parenting goes beyond punishment, and seeks to raise whole, happy, compassionate, CRITICALLY THINKING children. It is the revolution we need, at the root.

• Permaculture/Regenerative Design - "The greatest change we need to make is from consumption to production, even if on a small scale, in our own gardens. If only 10% of us do this, there is enough for everyone. Hence the futility of revolutionaries who have no gardens, who depend on the very system they attack, and who produce words and bullets, not food and shelter." (Bill Mollison)

• Self-Reliance/Preparedness - Jack Spirko is one of my favorite anarchist survivalists. The linked show starts, post-commercials, at about the 9th minute.

• Self-Ownership - You are the exclusive controller of your own body, and your own life.

• Voluntaryism - Relations among people should be by mutual consent, or not at all.

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If a 4-year plan feels a little long to you, consider attending a life-changing conference in 4 months. ANARCHAPULCO. Use the discount code "defiance" at checkout, and get 10% off your ticket price. And say, "Hi!" I'd love to meet you.

“All authority of any kind, especially in the field of thought and understanding, is the most destructive, evil thing. Leaders destroy the followers and followers destroy the leaders. You have to be your own teacher and your own disciple. You have to question everything that man has accepted as valuable, as necessary.”

(J. Krishnamurti, Freedom from the Known)

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