It’s Super Tuesday and I, living in California, get to vote. I like voting. It’s great. And while the vote in November may be more consequential, todays is also great.

It is indeed a privilege to vote. In human history, very few have been afforded the right. It also seems to frustrate many as it can be easy to view our fellow human and suspect they are going to vote in some inferior, ignorant manner. And probably many do.

That doesn’t mean we should devalue it. It has meaning and it matters. That said, I certainly have voted very differently in the last ten years than I did the first ten I was of age. I began voting on principle.

I stopped looking at voting as a way to exercise my will. I learned quickly that my will was exceptionally small when lumped together with the will of others. It mattered, yet was insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

What mattered more, was how I felt about my vote. So I began voting on principle. I view the two major parties in our nation as corrupt and beholden to special interest and large corporate entities that fund their campaigns. I hate that. I don’t believe my representatives actually represent me or any of us, really.

Politicians seem far more interested in maintaining power and prestige than doing anything productive and so life goes on and while it may be gradually improving for most of us, it doesn’t appear to be as a result of elected government.

So, clinging tightly to my moral compass and protesting through the ballot box, I cast my votes and smile, satisfied that I voting through my principles. It’s enough for me even if it infuriates others.

Vote but do so in a way that makes you feel good.