This is a thread about asking why Americans don’t vote at a very high rate. I am pushing back against the sadly very common doomer narrative that people just don’t care, are lazy, or stupid. For starters it’s just wrong, but also it accepts a framing where every single individual is responsible for the current situation we’re in, and therefore they just need to change. This is an entirely unproductive way of looking at things. Individual responsibility blame games are just about making the people making them feel superior to others. It encourages you to sit back and basically just say “I guess democracy doesn’t work! I did my part!”

My comment is the opposite of advocating for apathy. I am pointing out that more needs to be done to fix this problem. If you’re in a position to be angry at people for not voting, you should go do something about that. What are your state’s electoral laws like? Could you change them? What about participation in civic organizations like unions that can organize people to vote? Are there any around you that are doing that work? Do anything other than just telling random internet strangers that they should go vote.