Vote: The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country
Source: The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Topic
Vote is a compact act of public responsibility. In these quotes, the vote appears as power, symbol, instrument, and risk. Some lines compare a vote to a rifle, arguing that its usefulness depends on the character of the person who uses it. Others use satire to show that political freedom includes the power to make foolish choices with real consequences. The collection treats voting neither as magic nor as trivial ritual. A vote matters because it joins private judgment to shared outcomes. That makes preparation, honesty, and civic character essential. To vote carelessly is to spend power without attention; to vote cynically is to surrender power while pretending superiority. Read this topic when public choices feel distant or discouraging, and let these quotes remind you that democratic freedom requires citizens who take their own agency seriously. Let the vote remind you that small civic acts still carry the weight of shared consequence.
Vote: The instrument and symbol of a freeman's power to make a fool of himself and a wreck of his country