It Should Be Harder to Vote, Not Easier

“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt

“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
Winston Churchill

It’s difficult to express my feelings more succinctly than by citing those two quotes. But, I’ll try anyway.

Have you ever watched any “Man on the street” interviews televised by popular talk show personalities? You know the ones. An interviewer takes to the streets of America’s cities and asks random passers-by questions like, “Who won the Civil War?” or “Who bombed Pearl Harbor?” or “Who is Vice President of the United States?” and only one-in-four people can answer the question correctly. Well, guess what? Those three imbeciles who gave the wrong answer get their votes counted the same as you and I. I think there’s something basically wrong with that. (Of course I'm counting you in. If you're reading this, you are obviously intelligent and well-informed.)This is obvious testament to the complete failure of our country’s education system. It is a fixable problem, but one that will take quite a while to resolve. More on that in a moment. In the meantime, I think we should do something to prevent our country’s destiny from being decided by uninformed morons.

I think obtaining a voter’s registration card should be handled much the same way as obtaining a driver’s license. After all, immigrants are required to pass a test on basic American history and civics before being granted citizenship. A test, by the way, that only 3 in 10 Americans would pass. One could argue that with a 97.5% pass rate, immigrants are more qualified to vote than native-born Americans. They certainly have a better grasp of what’s happening in America than your average Kardashian-swilling couch potato that seems to make up the majority of the American electorate. We need a way to disqualify potential voters who can name every winner of “American Idol”, but can’t describe what the 1^st Amendment to the Constitution is about. No, democracy isn’t easy and American citizens should have to earn the right to participate. Sadly, the opposite is happening. All too often, judges strike down even the most minimal local voting requirements like a valid driver’s license or other proof of residency, citing discrimination. It looks like the trend favors letting anyone with a pulse cast a ballot. (Worse than that, the 2012 presidential election saw more votes cast by deceased persons than ever before. But, I won't be discussing voter fraud here.)

A conspiracy-minded person might argue that our government is purposely “dumbing down” its citizens by promoting a school curriculum exclusive of Constitutional principles, our Founders and basic economics.  All this in an attempt to keep Americans so ignorant they won’t recognize how badly their government is screwing them. With a near $20 trillion deficit turning our dollar into a peso, terrorists running amuck within our porous borders and politicians acting as puppets for big money special interest groups, an ignorant populace is required to avoid a revolution. What better way to keep most Americans ignorant than never teaching them what matters in the first place? Far-fetched? You decide.

So, should we allow uninformed dullards to cast their votes with the same weight as those of us who understand the workings of our government and take the time to keep up with current events? I say no. There should be at least some minimum level of understanding required to obtain the right to make decisions about the future of our country. I’m not suggesting that only college grads or even high school grads be allowed to vote, but that there should be some minimal requirement for issuance of a voter registration card. To keep numbskulls out of the voting booth, we need a simple test that asks questions like “Who is the current Secretary of State?” or “How many senators are there?” or “What is the term of a Supreme Court justice?”. Not too hard, right? Hell, make the test multiple choice. Anybody should be able to answer simple questions like that, or at least enough of them to score a passing grade, right? Guess what? Over half of America can’t! In my opinion, they don’t deserve to make critical decisions about who governs us.

I say,

“If you can’t point to Washington D.C. on a map, then you shouldn’t be allowed to help determine who works there!”
Joseph Kelley