I'm so bored with the U.S.A??

(Listening to: Twisted Logic, Coldplay)

So, I happened to take issue with a post on the blog by the authors of Freakonomics (which, by the way, I highly recommend reading very soon, and their blog is great - listed at the right of this page), and I felt compelled to respond. Click here to read the entire post, with comments. Mine is toward the bottom, though I'll reprint it here to save you the time. (I'm still not convinced who the aforementioned "you" is yet, but I guess that'll work itself out over time.)

It's true that one vote really doesn't have the "electoral oomph" you
referred to in your answer to the Washington Post Q&A, but don't be so quick
to jump down Anna V.'s throat just yet.

I think that a vote in a national election is just as important as it is in
a local election, and the reason is that, although it doesn't necessary carry
with it the "oomph" or even any sliver of a chance of affecting the outcome of
the election by itself, it does carry with it the example of participating in a
system that is somewhat flawed and certainly ignored by many.

My vote in Mississippi (which is where I live, before anyone hassles me for
bashing the South) really didn't matter in November's Presidential Election.
Mississippi was, and is, and will be for quite some time, a red state,
regardless of how I vote, or how those in my immediate circle of peers vote.
However, by voting, and by talking about voting and encouraging others to vote,
even though you don't necessarily do much for any candidate in particular, you
really go a long way toward strengthening the integrity of the system. In a
situation such as this, where many are so vocal about not voting and complaining
that their vote doesn't even count anyway, merely being part of
the example is effectively leading by example.

Am I just way too much of an idealist, or were The Clash onto something there??