Why Election Day is Theater

Every two years, we're told our vote matters. Every four years, we're told this is the most important election ever. And yet nothing ever changes.

The primaries are decided before most people vote. The debates are negotiated by campaigns to minimize risk. The voting machines are made by companies with known security flaws. And the outcome often seems predetermined before a single ballot is cast.

We're not choosing leaders—we're choosing between two pre-selected options that both serve the same establishment. The election is theater designed to make us feel like we have control when we actually don't.

None of this is to say you shouldn't vote. But we should be honest about what it actually accomplishes: a legitimizing ritual for a system that's already decided.