A friend of mine forwarded me an interesting chain e-mail last week, the contents of which may or may not be true.

It said that, of the 535 members of the United States Congress, “36 have been accused of spousal abuse, seven have been arrested for fraud, 19 have been accused of writing bad checks, 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least two businesses, three have done time for assault, 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit, 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges, eight have been arrested for shoplifting, 21 currently are defendants in lawsuits, and 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year.”

It then implored me to invoke “some serious thought before going to the voting booth” on November 7.

While I cannot vouch for the accuracy of any of the aforementioned information, what I can tell you is that this e-mail came from someone whom I had always considered to be a card-carrying Republican.

This was the same kid to whom I lost a bet in 2004 when he guaranteed me that George W. Bush would defeat John Kerry. The same kid that would, sometimes rationally, and sometimes irrationally, argue with me about national security, tax cuts and the trustworthiness of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

And it seemed that he was passing along information imploring people to think twice when thinking about re-electing the current Republican Congress on Election Day.

While I realize that plenty of the Representatives and Senators counted in the statistics above are probably Democrats, the obvious tone of the e-mail was aimed at throwing out the Republicans.

I can’t say that I was upset about this revelation. But I was confused.

So I IMed him.

“So, you’re a Democrat now?” I said.

“No. I’m just anti-politician. And I won’t be voting on Election Day,” he replied.

What?

Is this really what it’s come to?

Are people really becoming so frustrated with the government that they are willing to give up their right to vote merely because they don’t like the people currently in office?

Isn’t the whole idea of a democracy that people who are unhappy with their government can simply vote it out?

I’ve voted each year since I turned 18. And I always knew that some people either didn’t care enough to vote or just didn’t think their vote was important. But when people who used to have strong political ideologies are giving up their chance to voice their opinion, well, then it seems we have a big problem.

So, I’ve come up with an alternative rationale for going to the polls next Tuesday for those of you who might have similar sentiments as my friend.

Three days a week I have a Constitutional Law class at 8:45 a.m. And of all the things that I’ve absorbed at the crack of dawn on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, one thing has really stuck out over the past couple of weeks that I never really considered before.

The Supreme Court expects us to vote.

That’s right, the one branch that is not elected by us might be the branch that depends on our votes the most.

Why, you ask?

Well, I’m not going to get into a Constitutional Law lesson here because, (a) you don’t want to hear it, (b) I’m not a professor, and (c) I don’t really want to take on more legal analysis that I already do on a daily basis. So, I’ll get straight to the point:

Many times, when the Supreme Court hears a case dealing with either Congress or a state legislature’s attempt to limit a Constitutional right, the court will invoke what’s called “rationality review,” essentially saying that as long as what the legislature is doing is rational and is looking to meet a legitimate end, they can do it.

Translation: “If you don’t like it, throw them out of office on election day.”

Now, this obviously depends on the particular law we’re talking about, and the more fundamental and important the right, the less likely the court is to give deference to the legislature. But you catch my drift.

The highest court in the land has told us that it’s our job to keep our representatives in line. And what does a majority of the country do?

Ignore them.

Look, I don’t mean to sound preachy or corny. But the e-mail from my friend really shocked me.

I mean, if you’re a Democrat, which of these countries would you have more confidence in on November 8? One in which there was record voter turnout in every corner of the country, but with the Republicans keeping Congress? Or one in which there is typical low voter turnout and the Democrats take Congress?

I’m not sure I would be so bold as to say I would prefer the first option, but it would be closer than you’d think. And that’s saying a lot.

Voting on November 7 really isn’t a right; it’s a responsibility that our government depends on to run properly. And when the most politically charged people are bailing on our government, the future doesn’t look so promising.

So, basically, if you don’t like politicians, fine. Go to the polls and vote for the Supreme Court.

The Justices are counting on you.

Eric Finkelstein ’06 is a former Sun managing editor and is currently a first-year student in the Law School. He can be contacted at ejf33@cornell.edu. Saturdays Excepted appears alternate Mondays.