In the past few weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating whether or not to vote. After much thought, I decided not to. I have drawn much criticism over this decision, but I stand firmly by it. As a dissident, I have always opposed our country’s authoritarian and capitalistic policies. I believe our country’s voting process is unproductive. Every go-round, the outcome is either Republican or Democrat. These parties have been fighting an unnecessary war, for far too long.

Now, I do agree with some of the Republican policies and some of the Democratic policies, but I choose to side with neither. This decision is based on the drastic political measures taken by both parties. Each political party’s primary concern seems to be to defeat the competition, rather than help the people and our country. We see overwhelming proof of this on television, where the sole purpose of a candidate’s TV ad is to bash, humiliate and harangue the competition.

I believe that our voting process should not be a competition but, rather, a collaboration. Consider this analogy: Love is hardly ever a one-way street. It must almost always be a two-way thoroughfare, to accommodate two different people, who obviously won’t agree on everything. And … because it is a two- way street, the two are forced to find a single, middle lane, a middle ground and, thus, collaborate. Such a two-way street allows love to exist.

Our authoritarian and capitalistic society, unfortunately, has only a one-way highway that does not allow love to exist. And this competitive corruption is a systemic problem — a harsh, unproductive, competition that has crippled our country’s ability to unite.

I believe that if our country’s voting process were a collaboration, rather than a competition, our country would be a better place — for everyone. That is my opinion; and I stand firmly by my decision, my voice and my country.