Why is it that you get fined for not voting? What is the reasoning behind this? Care to shed some light on the subject?


As for not being free or being free just because someone can take your freedom away, let me paint you a picture:

You are on a deserted island with 30 other people, plane crashed, shipwrecked or whatever. You all decide to go your own way and do your own thing, afterall it is a huge island. So in essence you are free. But then you find out that you need to work with others to survive. Thus you impose rules of behavior upon yourself and others so that you can all work together.

The question I pose is this: Are you still free or are you now living in a "society" based upon rules and restrictions of certain types of behavior?

This is more of a rhetorical question than that I actually expect an answer. Think about freedom and all that it implies.

True freedom is not just being able to work and play and enjoy life. It is also the freedom to do what you want when you want and how you want with no consequences. So when you think about the word freedom think about what true freedom would imply and what would result if everyone had true freedom.

Originally Posted by Prince

too right.

anyways, is it freedom if you are forced to support a goverment you dislike? an example :

in australia you are made to vote, if you refuse to vote you get fined (this has happened to me and my family) now...even when i do vote i have to vote for someone i do not trust and that i dislike as both a person and a leader.
that person is our current pm. but i acnowlage..there are no other reasonable candidates for the job so well...ui gotta go with whats allready in place.

is that freedom? i dont think so.
as was said, we have to go with the system that grants the most freedom because nobody can be 100% free.

Your perspective of freedom in the U.S. is very biased based on your own feeling of freedom. In the U.S. we have the freedom to vote or not to vote. Don't think that due to your lack of freedom in your country that freedom is defined in every country as yours is.

Originally Posted by Marinerhodes

Why is it that you get fined for not voting? What is the reasoning behind this? Care to shed some light on the subject?

I didnt realise in Australia it was compulsory to vote either, I figured they were similar to us where it is only compulsory to be registered to vote.

Originally Posted by MontyB

I didnt realise in Australia it was compulsory to vote either, I figured they were similar to us where it is only compulsory to be registered to vote.

In the U.S. it is only compulsory to be registered if you want to vote.

It is compulsory to register with the selective service or what ever they call it these days.

Marinhodes, you have a very good point, not much can be said in response to that.

as regards to the voting, i dont know why my family has been fined for not voting...because they were jehovah's whitnesses they were prohibited from voting due to religion. because i was young at the time i just enquired about why we were fined...and apparently you have to come up with a valid reason to why you did not vote. if your reason was not valid to the goverment you were fined.