ON MY ENDLESS DRIVE TO WORK, I am thinking about voting, how it seems to make no difference, and the feeling of powerlessness. Then, synchronicity alert, the song “Luka” by Suzanne Vega comes on.

The song, sung from the perspective of an innocent abused child, instantly became a metaphor for the voters of America. Luka thinks his abused life is normal. He seems unwilling to change his situation. He doesn’t even ask for help.

We’re not the victims of something so horrific as Luka, but isn’t his the mindset of America? We vote. The system grinds but goes on. Nothing drastic ever happens. All the while, things slowly continue to deteriorate.

In the song, Luka doesn’t blame anyone but himself. That’s also us. “Dopey me, had I voted, or voted more often, or voted for the right people, maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation. Oh well, this sucks. Think I’ll voice my displeasure on Facebook. What’s on TV?”

AVOIDANCE. That is Luka’s biggest problem. How do you change a situation that seems so daunting? And what might happen if you do the wrong thing?

Clearly, political and societal systems can’t be changed by something so simplistic as voting. Not as it stands, anyway. That’s just naive.