Your vote doesn’t matter as much as your money

Did you know that your voice doesn’t matter? That’s the way it would seem, anyway. All one would have to do to come to that conclusion is keep abreast of what’s going on in politics in our nation today.

Don’t get me wrong, your vote matters. It seems as though these slippery serpents we call politicians will do and say anything to get that vote. However, once they have received your vote, anything they said or promised to you, the voter, that doesn’t coincide with their own agenda is long forgotten. The only things that matter now are fulfilling the promises made to organizations that financed the Golden Road to office.

So now who really has the power? You the voter go to that box on election day so that your voice may be heard. So that the things that matter most to you, your civil rights, your child’s education, health care, protection from criminals and corruption, and the like, are taken care of in a way that gives you comfort. That’s what you give your vote for! The problem is that your voice and your vote are not the same thing.

The organizations that give their money and influence to these politicians’ campaigns—they don’t do it for the sake of democracy. They do it to have their own needs and wants met. Unfortunately for you, the voter, their needs and wants don’t always synch up with your needs and wants. They’re satisfied, meanwhile you, the voter, well, your voice just gets lost.

• This post is published as part of the Prison Op/Ed Project, an occasional series authored by CCRI sociology students who are incarcerated at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institute. Read more here:
  • ‘Prison Op/Ed Project’ teaches civic engagement, writing – Meghan Kallman
  • Does racial injustice still exist? Look at our schools – Aaron Carpenter
  • Rhode Island charges felons absurdly high court costs – Christopher Nemitz
  • Public school students and inmates need more vocational training – Darnell Hie
  • Prison policies put probation and vocational training at odds – Norman Johnson
  • Corporate-modeled prison industrial complex doesn’t serve society – Adrian Rojas
  • Incarceration is the new slavery – James Poston
  • Justice isn’t blind with data-based sentencing – David Brown
  • Ending welfare entitlements opened the door to disability fraud – Dan Davidson
  • Post prison services would stem system’s revolving door – Michael Wheelock