We have these choices in life: (1) working to improve things, (2) whining about the unfairness of it all, or (3) voting with our feet. When you are in a company, a country, or a relationship that is not
working and offers no prospect of ever working for you, you can always
vote with your feet.
I personally prefer working to improve things, but have occasionally chosen to vote with my feet. I don’t give up easily, but there are times when you cannot improve a situation, no matter how hard you try. Then it is time to move on, or you are helping to perpetuate the situation.
The expression originally was applied to the emigration of individuals from one country to another that offered more opportunity. It is the ultimate solution in a relatively free society. It is an expression, when Googled, which turns up some fascinating tidbits:
There is a site votewithyourfeet.com
which promotes the idea of "vote with your feet", because if enough
people do this, countries will have to improve (compete), or risk
losing key people to other countries.
In the UK, a survey of 1,600 workers by totaljobs.com revealed that four in ten employees plan to switch jobs next year. Career-driven workers ‘voting with their feet’.
An article in the Christian Science Monitor would seem to indicate
that Japanese women are voting with their feet when it comes to
selecting spouses. The article is titled: What Japanese women want: a Western husband. It begins:
The Japanese government wants women like Taeko Mizuguchi to get married
and start doing something about the nation’s plunging birthrate. But
she’s not interested. At least, not if her prospective husband is
Japanese.
A growing number of Japanese women are giving up on their male
counterparts, and taking a gamble that looking abroad for love will
bring them the qualities in a partner that seem rare at home. Mr.
Right, as the hope goes, is often an American or European, a man
appreciative of a wife’s career and more of a partner in daily tasks.
In another situation, closer to home, disgruntled US voters, unhappy
with the results of the recent election are considering moving to
Canada. This article in the National Review Online shows why they might want to reconsider.
On a sadder note, Christians of Iraq are voting with their feet and leaving the country.
I hope you are successfully handling the challenges of your life and
are not considering voting with your feet any time soon. But, if you
really have to do so, you can take heart in the fact that this country
was settled by people who voted with their feet. It is not the end of
the world at all. It can be a new beginning.