Democracy Doubts

Like Rush Limbaugh before me, I'm going to say something deeply unpopular.  You ready for it?  Here it is:

I'm not so sure about this whole "democracy" thing we have going on in the U.S.

There's been a lot of talk about voter suppression laws lately, and it's just not an issue I can get incredibly excited about, because deep down, in a dark place I don't like to talk about, I don't believe that everyone should be voting.

Now, to clarify, I don't think that people should be kept from voting on the basis of race, class, income, party affiliation, or anything like that.  I simply think that we should weed out people based on stupidity.  If you're stupid, you should not be voting.  Simple as that.

"How would we gauge levels of stupidity?" you might be asking.  Well, of course the simplest way would be to let me decide on each and every person's ability to vote, but since that would be prohibitively time-consuming, I've devised a quick test that we could administer when people are registering to vote.  Here's my draft:

Question 1.  What are the 3 branches of government?

                    a. legislative, bureaucratic & socialistic
                    b. legislative, executive & judicial
                    c. maple, oak & pine
                    d. I thought there were only 2

If you answered a, c, or d, you don't get to vote.

Question 2.  Who is the current vice-president of the United States?
                   
                    a. Barack Obama
                    b. Dick Cheney
                    c. Joe Biden
                    d. Barack Obama is a socialist

If you answered a, b, or d, you don't get to vote.

Question 3.  Who is Kim Kardashian currently dating?
                   
                    a. Kanye West
                    b. Michael Jordan
                    c. I don't really give a shit
                    d. Who is Kim Kardashian?

Unless you answered c or d, you don't get to vote.

Question 4. Please name at least one of your U.S. Senators.

If you can't name at least one, you don't get to vote.

Question 5. Which of the following programs could be correctly defined as "socialist?"
                  
                   a. the Fire Department
                   b. the Police Department
                   c. the local public school
                   d. Obamacare

If you answered d, you don't get to vote.

We could always throw some essay questions in there just to make it a little more fair, but I think these questions would be a good start.  I'm not so concerned about who people are voting for.  My concern is that people are voting based on 30 second TV ads and then doing no further research on the issues.

My brother has a theory that our democracy is the very thing that is making our society so collectively stupid.  His theory goes that because we have so much freedom, we are free to be lazy, apathetic and uninformed.  I think he may be right. 

Am I saying we should go to an all-out dictatorship? Not necessarily.  That would only work if I were the dictator.  But maybe we should invest a little more in public information on government.  We are doing a terrible job of teaching basic civics to our children, and it has made us a more divided, divisive society, which makes me fear for our future.

What Liberals Celebrate on the 4th of July

While browsing through Facebook today, I came across a great article by Dan Bimrose entitled "What a Liberal Does on the 4th of July."  It was an excellent read and it inspired me to write my own post about liberals and Independence Day.  Then I realized that (a) my toddler will be up from his nap soon, so I don't have much time, and (b) I really can't say it any better than Dan did.

If you want to read the full article, go here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-bimrose/what-a-liberal-does-on-th_b_887567.html

Otherwise, here is my favorite part:

Liberals respect, honor and cherish the Constitution as an evolving document capable of being changed when we as a nation are ready for change.

We believe that the founders had it right when they said in the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." We believe this to be the very worthy intent of our founding fathers.

We acknowledge conservatives love the Constitution as well. Well, they love certain parts of the Constitution. Different conservative groups would love to repeal a variety of amendments including the 8th, the 14th, the 16th, the 17th, the 19th and possibly the 26th amendment.

Liberals do believe that children born in the inner city or poverty stricken rural areas deserve the same access to health care as blue bloods spending the holiday on Martha's Vineyard. We are not unpatriotic because we believe this. Perhaps you could call us compassionate, but not unpatriotic.

We understand that we pass on more to our children than just budgets and balance sheets. We also pass on the environment and the planet to our children and grandchildren. Regardless of whether or not we feel that global warming is real or a myth we still value clean water and clean air.

We may not appreciate the wars we are currently fighting in the Middle East, but we love and respect our soldiers. After all they are our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, wives and husbands.

We believe that teachers, policeman and firefighters should be paid and paid well due to their value and service to our community.

We believe that all of our children deserve libraries, gym class, and the opportunity to star in their school play.

We believe our country is great because we are a melting pot, not in spite of it. We value diversity. This is the American Way. This was the American dream.

We pay our taxes, but think that the wealthiest amongst us and the most profitable industries can share in bearing a little extra burden to fix our government's mistakes.

We believe that our senior citizens are people who have served our countries and their families well. They deserve not just our respect, but the ability to retire with the reasonable assurance that their health needs and financial needs will be met.

No, we do not agree with everything and most of the time we do not agree with anything, but it is not necessary to call each other unpatriotic or un-American. Liberals do not think conservatives are evil, we just think they are wrong. Perhaps some of the name calling conservatives out there will learn that liberals are Americans too.

Whether liberal or conservative, we are all American.  Have a great 4th everyone!