Every fall, football enthusiasts are reminded of the terrible feeling of helplessness that comes with our love of the game.
 
LSU fans in particular have learned this lesson the hard way. We can shout and holler at our TV screens all we want during the game. But there’s ultimately nothing we can do to keep a coach from signaling for a “spike” as time expires.
 
Being an avid sports fan inevitably entails heartbreak and defeat. But as gut wrenching as fandom can be, it serves as a useful reminder that some things in life we simply can’t control.
 
That’s why competent fans don’t delude themselves into thinking they can have any real impact on the game itself. They simply sit back and enjoy the game for what it is — a trivial form of entertainment.
 
As intuitive as this logic might sound for sports, there’s an equally frivolous autumn arena where the many people make the exact opposite case: voting.
 
Every November, as the election cycle approaches, political activists and inept pop culture icons rally together to urge fellow citizens to “get out and vote” so they can influence our political system and “make their voices heard.”
 
Tea Party activists in particular have been leading the charge to herd people to the voter registration booth. Many assert that this midterm election is the most important of our lifetime   — our last chance to restore fiscal sanity in Washington.
 
But as well-intentioned as Tea Party activists may be, their efforts are simply too little, too late.
 
The U.S. government hit a financial iceberg decades ago. At this point in the game, electing new representatives is like hiring new deckhands on the Titanic hours after it struck ice.
 
If conservatives were really looking to constrain the growth of government, they should’ve taken stands years ago when the final nails were gradually being hammered into America’s financial coffin. But, alas, they were silent — especially while recent “conservative” administrations drastically increased the size of the federal government.
 
The fact is, our generation isn’t responsible for the sins of our forefathers. We never signed a “social contract” assuming our nation’s $13.5 trillion debt. We weren’t around when Social Security or any other government-sanctioned Ponzi schemes were passed. We didn’t lay the shaky foundations for America’s 21st century empire.
 
The U.S. is supposedly run “for the people, by the people.” Yet when it comes to truly critical issues — like invading Iraq, passing health care reform or bailing out corporate cronies — “the will of the people” is conveniently tossed aside.
 
If history proves anything, it’s that voting doesn’t ever actually change anything in Washington — it only provides the illusion of choice and self-determination.
 
So don’t delude yourself into thinking this election will be any different.
 
The problem today isn’t merely confined to the corruption within our political system. It’s the corruption of a political system that starts multiple unnecessary wars and off loads trillions of dollars of debt to an unborn generation — all while priding itself on “democracy” and “no taxation without representation.”
 
So don’t buy the lie that playing the silly electoral game is the only way you can “make your voice heard” and help change the world.
 
Politics are just another silly game. What goes on in Washington is entirely out of your control.
 
Political cronies can regurgitate mindless mantras and empty promises like “hope” and “change” all they want. But only you have the power to change your life and make your world a better place.
 
So stand by your principles and sit this one out.
 
Your silence this November may just be the loudest statement you ever make.
 
Scott Burns is a 21-year-old economics and history senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_sburns.
 
 
 
 
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Contact Scott Burns at [email protected].