The art of voting

A look at the news - Loris S. Musumeci

Is there a voting tactic? A way? A gesture? The question is on your mind, dear Helvetians, on this exciting Sunday. Is it better to vote for or against your convictions? Are you seriously wondering whether it's even worth putting your vote in the ballot box?

These questions seem finely stupid; indeed, in part, they are. Nonetheless, they're still more clever than stupid. If it will help you put the right pencil stroke on the ballot, please follow me in a very brief reflection on each of these innocently subtle questions.

Is there a voting tactic?

There are tactics in everything. Or almost. In seduction, for example, it's often best to say very little, stare intently into the lady's eyes, blow the right word here and there in the discussion, concise and direct. After which, it's no disadvantage to gently draw on your cigarette, barely held in place by two strong but delicate lips. Lips that promise a kiss soon. The same applies to voting tactics. If argument - from the Latin dis-putatio meaning «to think together» - is good and enriching, so is the deep silence in front of one's ballot paper. Just the right word is enough: «I now vote and commit myself to my country», and the gaze is fixed on the objects of the vote for which one has become passionate.

A way?

Judging voting «by the yardstick of human flourishing», as economist and philosopher Amartya Sen would say. It's not always easy to discern whether the choice to vote is really one that is or is not in the interests of the common good; but the question of good intention and information on the subject are a good first step.

A gesture?

As far as possible, go to the local polling station and trace the previously established decision with a decisive gesture.

For or against your convictions?

Sometimes it's not a bad idea to settle for a step forward, even if you're more or less determined to see it through. For example, the campaigner for same-sex marriage may initially be content with a «civil solidarity pact» - PACS - and the firm opponent of pre-implantation diagnostics may accept an eventual law limiting these practices, even if the vote in question does not propose to abolish them altogether. Politics is a matter of time, so let time move at its own pace.

Is it worth voting?

From childhood onwards, we've all experienced the disappointment and frustration, but also the joy of having accomplished a good deed. While we may remain unhappy with the outcome of a vote, the fact remains that everyone's voice is considered, even if only symbolically. It is therefore necessary to make it heard, proudly, as a responsible citizen.

Write to the author: loris.musumeci@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: http://md1.libe.com/photo/614162-un-electeur-depose-son-bulletin-dans-l-urne.jpg?modified_at=1394885104&width=960