To Vote or Not to Vote

I am a slack citizen. I haven’t voted in a Presidential election since…um…well, it’s been a long time. Libertarian Party candidates never win much more than seats on the school board.
The Libertarian Party advocates personal responsibility, individual liberty, a free-market economy and a peaceful foreign policy. If those principles were adopted by the US president, I’d be proud to be an American.
I want to do something to change the direction the US government has taken on almost every issue. I just don’t know what to do, exactly. My friend, Terri, flew from Tokyo to freezing cold Iowa to knock on doors for Howard Dean. I guess I could start “Libertarians Abroad” or something…
But the main (and easiest) action I can take is to vote, and I just can’t rouse myself to register because it feels like my vote is useless. Any candidate whose platform I admire doesn’t stand a chance, and I won’t vote for a candidate I don’t like simply to dislodge a worse one.
This is a defeatist attitude and nothing gets done by defeatists. So I’ll think about it some more. If I do summon the enthusiasm to vote, I can get a downloadable absentee ballot request.
In case you’re not sure of where you stand in the political spectrum, here are two online surveys to try:
World’s Smallest Political Quiz — only 10 questions
Political Compass — a more thorough look at your leanings.