Though I’m not familiar with Russell Brand’s work as an actor, judging from interview clips he’s a pretty good comedian and social critic in the tradition of Bill Hicks. In this excerpt from the BBC program Newsnight he defends his choice not to vote and voices concern for a number of topics not usually discussed on television.
While I understand the position of not voting, I believe in the U.S. there’s still good reason to vote at least for local elections, initiatives or referendums. Voting may be a form of coersion but in some cases it can block the enaction of policies leading to greater coersion. If one uses absentee ballots voting doesn’t take much time and effort and though vote rigging is a problem, not all elections are rigged and voting can in some cases make it more difficult to do. For now in this country, with education and organization, voting can still lead to positive change or prevent things from getting worse, and of course one’s political activity shouldn’t be limited to voting. However, when it comes to presidential elections, low turnouts are one way to send a message of illegitimacy and disgust. Despite political disagreements I’m glad public figures such as Brand use their fame as a platform for thoughtful and substantive ideas not usually found in the world of corporate media. It seems he’s been on a roll lately because just last month he was banned from the GQ Awards for this speech:
And earlier this year he made a mockery of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program:
While Brand may have good reason to be annoyed with the hosts, it’s unfortunate that he resorted to lewd jokes near the end. Stooping to their level undermines the effectiveness of his critique, in my opinion.
After the Crash 
It occurred to me that some of your readers may not know of this website. If anyone knows of other sites of this nature, I’d like to know of them. https://www.govtrack.us/
Thanks again.
Thanks for sharing that resource. A couple sites I’ve often found useful are OpenSecrets.org and The Sunlight Foundation.
I don’t vote. I haven’t for decades. I find it pointless in the current political environment (although I understand your position on local elections). I do take an active part in our political system, which is more than the people do that I know who do vote. In the spirit of my animal activism, and beyond, I write and petition, my representatives often and I call them a few times a year, although I’ve never been able to do more than leave a message. And most of the time, they respond back.
The people—again that I know—who do vote haven’t a clue of the laws being passed, nor have they an appreciation of the corruption our government is infested with. And yet they feel, because they vote, that they are working hand-in-hand with democracy, and that they have a right, withheld me, to bitch, and they only bitch among themselves, about our government’s policies. But my right to petition (and bitch) is not granted by a voter’s registration, but rather the Constitution.
Thanks for the post and for turning me on to Russell Brand.
Though I vote I am under no illusion that it’s the only solution nor that it necessarily will lead to real solutions. I think it’s counterproductive to view it that way and to condemn those who choose not to vote. I see voting as a relatively small part of a spectrum of actions we could do to change the culture and status quo. It’s just as important if not more to make conscious lifestyle and consumer choices, organize, and to educate oneself and others.