Right to Vote

This election has been the first one in my lifetime that has interested me enough to actually vote. For the past several elections, I didn't like either candidate, so in an effort to not settle for the lesser of two evils, I chose not to vote. This election is different because while I dislike both the main-stream candidates, my own political views have crystallized into something that I feel strongly about.

What irritates me to no end is the constant badgering in the media to vote, and not only to vote but to vote either Democrat or Republican. I hear from people that if I didn't vote, I have no right to complain. Well, we live in a country where anyone can complain about anything. Really, if I dislike all the candidates, it doesn't matter who wins, I'm going to dislike their policies, and I should be able to vocalize them. If I voted for the winner, does that mean I have no right to complain because I voted for the guy? Or is it if I voted for the loser, I have every right to complain because had my candidate won, everything would be a lot better?

Lately, I've also been hearing about how it is our duty to vote but voting Libertarian/Green/Independent is a wasted vote. Why is it that we live in a society where we have all this freedom, but not the freedom to choose who we want? It should be my decision how I cast my vote, and if I feel like the two major party candidates don't deserve my vote, so be it. They are allowed to be on the ballot, which means I have the right to vote for them.

Also, is anyone else tired of all the political commercials on TV? I mean really, they run the commercials back to back, often two candidates running for the same office. It's gotten to the point where it's hard to tell when one commercial ends and another begins and it is impossible to figure out which candidate the commercial is even for.

Generally, I could care less about politics. It doesn't matter to me which candidate wins because I feel like our government has gotten so big and cumbersome that nothing ever changes, no matter who is in office. I am just so tired of these elections.