> So if you vote at all, you'd better not be complaining about how the country is run.

I completely disagree. I am bound to follow the laws created by a legislature that I voted against (for example), but if I voted against them I still have every right to contend that those laws are unfair or unjust in some way. Another example: your stance would seem to suggest that those of us who voted against Bush in the past two elections aren't allowed to oppose his push for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage -- in other words, just because we voted, even though we didn't vote for him, we can't contest what we see as his attempt to enshrine a blatant violation of civil rights in our nation's founding document. (Two things for the record: one, I am not trying to start a debate on same-sex marriage or the Bush administration here; I just read about this in the news this morning, so that was the example that immediately came to mind. Two, I think that it's equally absurd to say that people who voted against a liberal president have no right to contest any pro-gay sentiments or policies that that president may have.)

We are bound to obey the leaders that have been voted into office, but we aren't required to like them (especially if we voted against them), and I would contend that it is damaging to the system when people don't criticize aspects of their leadership that they think are genuinely hurting the country or its people. One of the reasons why I vote is because I want to try to ensure that the country is run in the right way. If the other guy wins, and he screws up, I think that I have every right to point out his errors.

~Chrysanthemum~