...Do not complain about how our country is run or whatever be it Federal, state, local if you do not vote...
Maybe, but...I have a friend who holds a different opinion. He doesn't vote because he holds that by voting, or participating any any selection process, you are tacitly accepting the outcome. He refuses to accept any outcome but the one he wants. He feels that the only way he legitimately can complain is if he doesn't participate in, and thereby accept the results of, the process.
Myself, I vote because it's my only opportunity, miserable though it is, to voice my opinion. Probably silly since statistically it has absolutely no effect on the outcome whether I vote or not. This usually elicits a smarmy "What if everyone felt that way?" from someone. My standard response is that, first, my lack of interest in what anyone or everyone else feels approaches total and, second, it's a certainty that not everyone feels that way.
Regardless I vote. I vote as if I'm the only one doing so and the entire outcome depends on me. Usually I vote for what I want, not against what I don't want. I try to never be dismayed at the outcome. The human capacity for stupidity coupled with greedy and unenlightened self interest can never be overstated.
