Consider this before voting…

[Ourfuturetheirfuture]

We are in a unique and dangerous time in history. We are potentially on the cusp of a world war and climate chaos has started and will get worse. Children are growing up in poverty, public services that we rely on are struggling. There is much that needs attention to give us safety, stability and better life chances.

Today we are choosing who we want to lead us through the dangerous seas ahead and to try and improve our lives.

AIBU to ask you to consider;

Reflecting on your reasons for voting one way or another? Is it driven by feelings or facts? Is it a knee jerk decision based on a headline or a carefully thought choice based on research or somewhere inbetween?

Reminding yourself that the way to solve, minimise or survive the above issues will be complex and slow so anyone promising one quick solution is lying.

Russia are trying to create division and instability and are using SM to do this. Many politicians resort to whipping up fear, anger or other emotions to get you to vote for them. Look out for any information that looks too good to be true or seems to be trying to make you angry - consider fact checking it.

If you are thinking of voting for a party as a protest vote then please reconsider. Your voice is unlikely to be heard and you will still have to live with any consequences. Spoiling your paper is better than voting in a party you don’t really want at the helm.

Checking that it’s your head and not your heart making the decision.

Working class men, and then women, all fought a long hard battle to give everyone the chance to vote. Democracy is a great thing and we all have a duty to use it responsibly, especially now as we all stand at this particularly perilous point in history.

I know IAB a bit U posting this here as it’s not really an AIBU but I’m hoping I’m forgiven. Long time poster (darked on washing, Mexican house thief are in my memory bank). I’m not a Russian bot and I did my postal vote already. I’m a mum and worried about the future. I want the best for us all.

Happy voting day everyone whoever you decide to vote on. I’m so glad we all get a chance to. 😊

I think as I get more years life experience behind me I see the grey areas more too and whilst I’d love a party that ticked all the boxes for my particular values, I have come to realise that’s just not going to happen (unless I start one myself which quite frankly is beyond me). I just had to decide on my top three most important things and see which fit the best. I also took into account the local situation and who is most likely to get a seat.

They get counted and reported on. 0.3% spoiled last election I think. A big rise might make headlines. I don’t know though.

While I think the OP is being OTT I do agree with the basic concept. Politics is not entertainment. Do your due diligence, read the manifestos and use the fact check facilities. Give using your vote as much attention as you would if you were making an expensive purchase. If there is nobody you feel you can vote for in your constituency then say so on your ballot paper....and as my Dad used to say "If you don't vote, don't moan." steps down off soapbox.

I agree with all of that and hopefully NATO will be a deterrent to him but he’s towards the end of his life, he’s a psychopath and I’m not sure he will make sensible rational decisions - but I’m no expert.

Climate change as an additional threat is the reason I’m more concerned and feel the weight of this election more than before. It’s the whole of it coupled with dire poverty, public services struggling etc. There is so much that needs attention.

I want to make sure I make a decision based on who I think will handle that best and I don’t want to be pushed into that decision by game playing manipulating politicians, or SM hyperbole and interference. I want to make the most informed decision possible (well wanted to as I voted already), and I felt the weight of that this year more than ever.

So sorry to doom all over your toast. Didn’t intend too. I’ve made you a cup of apology tea ☕️

I’m actually quite optimistic about humans generally but am just feeling weight of this election. The threats I mention are real and the issues do exist. But it is positive that this is our chance to give ourselves the best shot at a better future for us and our DC and that’s a positive thing. We have a vote! Hurrah!

Glad you have decided and enjoy your day. 😊

If you don’t vote, don’t moan is a great quote.

Apologies if my OP sounded OTT but my points stand and my concerns aren’t plucked from nowhere. I’m not prone to be over anxious. But glad you agree in general about the principle of it being serious.

😂😂😂

I’m not panicking - honestly. Just taking it seriously and am genuinely concerned about the future for DC and for good reasons. But lots to to be grateful for and look forward to as well. I’m just feeling the weight of this election more than previous ones.

Well you have a point but to be honest my concerns are based on fairly solid stuff as I’ve detailed in other posts. But you are right, my language in my OP could be classed as hyperbolic. I have given my wrist a slap. Here’s an apology cup of tea I made you ☕️ <backs away head down>

Honestly. You are reading too much into my post and getting 5 from adding two twos.

Some think I’m a Russian boy, some think I’m Kier, some think I’m Tory HQ.

In reality I’m Nige. Wha ha ha ha.

I have got a postal vote and have done for some time. It really takes the stress out of the process. I read manifestos (ok with a glass of wine!) use the fact check online facilities, make my decision and post the vote then binge watch vintage TV programs instead of watching all the election noise.

You sound like you are ten years old. Do you even have voting rights yet?

Apologies to have irritated. Having seen some TV footage interviewing some voters it was very clear they had done no due diligence. I have seen views on other threads that also show quite clearly that some people state who they will vote for and base this on very little that could be classed as fact.

There are all kinds of biases and attribution errors that human beings make. We have to firstly be aware of them and secondly actively step aside from them if we don’t want to be manipulated. I stand by my invitations to do that.

Apologies to have irritated you though.

I like your style 😊

Wow. Rude!

I feel rather insulted by the OP's question on how I choose to vote.
It's the whole of me, head and heart, that has informed my decision. HTH.

So rude! Honestly, OP your posts have been neutral and not patronising, no idea why MN has turned into a bitter place- maybe it's the MH crisis 😂

I dont agree that it's a dangerous time but we can't all agree.

I hope you ignore the rude people, I think they forget how to interact with people as they spend too much time online.

Fair enough. Heart matters too. What I was clumsily trying to say was about avoiding knee jerk voting. But you are right and compassion comes from the heart and that’s a big part of who I vote for. 😊

Thank you. I’m glad you can see I’ve got good intentions 😊

The upside of perimenopause is that I no longer care what others think, so a bit of rudeness on a random forum with a specific name change is ‘but a mere flesh wound’ 😉

Dangerous, as a PP pointed out is probably slightly hyperbolic, but I do have genuine and well founded concerns. I don’t lose sleep though. Can’t control much of it. But this election does feel more weighty to me this time around.

Thanks for your comments. Appreciate them.

Vote counter here- any spoilt votes are included in the overall numbers, as obviously we have to confirm that if the polling station said they've got 150 votes in the box, there actually is 150 votes in there.
When we count the votes individually, it'll be something like 50 for this candidate, 50 for that one, 49 for the other and 1 spoilt vote.

I agree with you op, but it was Churchill who said that the best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter. Some will vote based on facts, some will even do extensive research. Some will vote because they like a face, a hair cut, the fact that he's experienced, or young and in touch. I'd love for people to properly educate themselves before voting. But, we live in a democracy and democracies are not perfect.

no but a reminder like this one doesn't hurt!

I didn't mean to come across as snippy by asking if you had studied history at all, but pretty much everything in your opening paragraph is a list of things that are better now than at almost any other time and place in the world, and yet you label our time as unique and dangerous. It's just not true:

Death in war worldwide is at one of the lowest points (as a proportion of the population) that it has ever been in recorded history. Not quite as low as the early 2000s, but so abnormally low compared to every other decade going back 1000 years. And that's over the whole world. Dying as a result of war as a UK citizen, military or civilian, is so incredibly unlikely that it wouldn't even be visible on a pie chart. So, yes, there are current tensions in the world, areas of conflict, and the risk of escalation. But historically speaking we are still well below average war casualties.

Children in poverty now is shocking, but, again, as nothing compared to periods when child mortality was between a third and a half (i.e. up to 50% of children born alive wouldn't live until their 5th birthday, which doesn't even count all the miscarriages and maternal deaths).

Public services are struggling. But for most of history they were non-existent, or dependent on the whim of a rich benefactor, or severely restricted (free education for citizens of X, but 85% of residents are not citizens, for example).

I'll give you climate change. Not because the climate hasn't fluctuated before, but because human activity is making it worse by a huge margin.

It's not that I disagree with the premise that there are things wrong with the country, and that many things are worse now than in the recent past. But it's helping no one to claim that 'we are in a unique and dangerous time in history' when it is so patently false. Surely it just undermines the overall message.

I’ve been and spoiled my ballot. I couldn’t bear not to turn up. Feels pretty pointless but at least nobody could accuse me of apathy.

I STILL haven't made up my mind 😳

Been past the village polling station twice (walking up to sports day and back) and i'll be going past it twice more in the next couple of hours!

I've been giving it the side eye.

I know. There is huge variation in how people decide and it’s so important everyone has a say. I’m just so aware of all the misinformation, divisiveness and ‘dog-whistling’ (please help me find a better way of phrasing that - I hate that it suggests we are like dogs!).