I understand your point. My point is that by participating in such discussions, you influence other people…and by pointing out (rightly) that only a small number of states are battleground states and so most peoples’ votes for a presidential candidate are a waste of time and money, your words will be taken by some — or many — as yet more justification to not show up to the voting booth at all.

I know that’s not your intention, but with some, that will be the effect.

And yes, I know that you are in no way responsible for the choices of other people…but your words (like mine) have a nonzero effect on others. After all, that’s why you and I are here, isn’t it?

Khaled Hosseini put it better than I ever could:

Nothing happens in a vacuum in life: every action has a series of consequences, and sometimes it takes a long time to fully understand the consequences of our actions.

So please consider that while your words are obviously well-intentioned, they can still be subject to the law of unintended consequences.