DEAR Editor;
I read with interest Tebuho Zongwana‘s professionally written reflection (in last week’s In My View) on a group of those eligible that do not vote.
In context of one of the main purposes of journalism, that of giving people the information they need to make better decisions about their lives and society, your article is insightful and will, as it was no doubt intended, stimulate many to ponder their voting position with the aim of ensuring a best possible attempt at emplacing government that is reflective of an informed public’s decision on whom should give us guidance in the coming half decade.
Whether this will lead to the depth of change that most of the common people clamour for is beyond the power of the article, however a single voice is always better than none.
With that said it is not what prompted me to put ‘pen to paper’.
You left you readers with the clear understanding that those who do not exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections are all ‘fence sitters’ and that they choose this course of action believing that voting does not bring change.
You then proceeded to justify this position in the most eloquent of manners.
Your rationale behind what motivates your self-styled ‘fence sitters’ is indeed well constructed, however it is also presented in a way which leaves no room for believing there are alternate reasons for not voting. To you a non-voter is a ‘fence sitter’.
I am sure you can see where this is heading, it is awkward at best.
Sadly, you cannot defend your absence of the provision of an alternate reason for not voting behind the normal journalist’s shield we can call weight of fact.
In other words, it is such a generally well-known fact that people who choose not to vote do so due to the reasons you have cited in your article, therefore no hint of an alternate reasoning needs to be presented.
The fact is that the reasons why people choose not to exercise their right to vote have not been overtly explored to any level that would enable that defence and frankly, your article would have had far more impact if this itself was the focal point.
As a direct result, you unfairly categorised me in the most personal way.
I have never known life without the ability to vote and this is not the only environment I am legally entitled to exercise that constitutional right.
Despite the privilege endowed upon me I have chosen not to vote, ever, and I believe my reasonings, whilst not mainstream, to be well-considered, valid, and worthy of respect, regardless of whether they mirror the contemporary outlook.
Let me elucidate.
As much as our Constitution gives us the right to vote, more importantly it also bestows upon us the choice of whether to exercise that right, in other words it also gives us the right to not vote.
The absence of this simple truth I feel dealt your article a mortal blow.
Personally, I do not want to endorse what I see as a fundamentally flawed system by casting a vote for a political representative, or party, that regardless of which flag they wave or manifesto they propound, is inherently incapable of consistently attending to the needs of the very people who placed them in that position.
This statement applies both to current environments I am entitled to vote within and any others that I may enjoy in the future, it is not South Africa centric.
Covid-19 has brought many people to the factual realisation of their own impotence in the face of the institutionalised world which exercises control and now, more than ever, there is an awakening of a consciousness to the fact that that the current predominant vehicle for change is not the only one.
My thoughts on an alternative are simple – focus on identifying what affects you and those you love, then DO something about it.
And be very, very, careful of being convinced to subscribe to any person or group of persons who expound that they will do it for you.
In my view, voting would numb me to the fact that individually we still have the ability for effecting change, and, that we do not have to rely upon a political or institutionalised system to do it for us.
No one likes ‘fence sitters, I am sure you will agree with me every time you request official comment on any issue you are investigating that involves local government from their spokespersons.
I enjoyed your style of journalism and look forward to reading your reflections in the future.
SIMON LEE
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