Politics & Power Quote by Ziggy Marley

Ziggy Marley’s line lands like a shrug that’s doing double duty: it dodges the demand to take a side while quietly indicting the whole game. “I’m not an American” is the obvious boundary-setting, a reminder that U.S. politics isn’t the planet’s default setting. But he doesn’t stop at nationality. He immediately pokes at the machinery itself: “Do they count the votes in America?” It’s a sly, almost tossed-off question that carries the weight of disputed elections, voter suppression, and a long-running suspicion that democracy in the U.S. is more brand than guarantee.

The twist is the self-implication: “I haven’t voted in Jamaica either.” Marley refuses the clean moral high ground. Instead, he admits disengagement, and that honesty complicates the critique. He’s not selling himself as a righteous outsider; he’s revealing how alienating politics can be even in your own home. That admission reads like generational fatigue: when institutions feel rigged or irrelevant, opting out becomes a quiet form of protest - or a symptom of defeat.

As a musician, Marley’s currency is credibility, not policy. The quote works because it captures a globalized cultural reality: American elections dominate headlines, but many people watch them like weather reports - consequential, unavoidable, and not entirely within anyone’s control. The subtext isn’t apathy so much as distrust: of systems that promise voice while making citizens feel unheard.