On my way to bed (trying to pry myself off of Reddit), I came across this story of a woman who is afraid to register to vote because she has to list a residential address, but is afraid her violent ex boyfriend could track her down and hurt her. My own sister was abused by her husband and while it might seem unlikely this guy would track her down using voting records, I understand the fear that she has and don't blame her for being extra cautious.

However, I think the saddest thing reading this was the part where she describes voting as some very important thing in her life that she has lost. If the only way she can see change happening is through the government, I can understand why she would think this way. The way she sees it is that her desire for change, her voice for change, and her ability to change things is destroyed, or severely hindered and she can find no way around this. Voters and people in general have the desire to make changes and try to make the world a better place, but they just don't know how to do that without government.

I hear voters who are clearly passionate and determined to change the world for the better (maybe not always in my opinion to be better), but fail to see the people they pick to make those changes have nothing, but false promises and ulterior motives. Politicians are not compelled by the same passions and motivations the people who vote for them have. She could see that staying with a man who abuses her would be a bad idea, but she sticks with the state that does things just as bad, if not worse, to her freedoms and to the freedoms of others. She sticks to a state that has killed and will kill more people than her ex boyfriend could ever murder in his lifetime. She even describes the restraining order against her ex boyfriend as "pieces of paper". Just like any law, it's ineffective in protecting her. It's clear as day right in front of her face the ineffectiveness and uncaring nature of government, but she fails to make the connections. I've seen a lot of people stay in abusive relationships over the years and it breaks my heart whenever I see them. They stay in there, not because they love to, but because they are afraid and don't know there's a better way to live than like that.