Day 253
February 25, 2008Been a bit slow to jump on the US election bandwagon, but as it’s going to be some ride, there’s still plenty of time. Lots has already been written about the candidates, but with two woeful voting displays under the country’s belt, I’m going to start by asking the question – should every vote be equal?
In many people’s eyes, the right to an equal vote defines a democratic society, but I have to say that seems a little flawed to me. Yes, it’s important that a government is representative, accountable and all that good stuff, but shouldn’t a vote be something that you are obliged to exercise with care.
In the US primaries, two terms of complete incompetency seem to have brushed away a little voter apathy, but a few ticked ballot boxes once in a blue moon hardly constitute engagement in the political process. Not for one minute saying everyone should be studying politics and the merits of the different candidates in great detail, but surely if people had been a little more informed and engaged in the process the last two times round, the US and you could argue other parts of the world, wouldn’t be in the same position.
It’s the sense of entitlement that really gets me. Even if a person knows nothing about the candidate’s policies, and is simply making their decision at the polling station based on the colour, sex or religion (more on this later) of a given candidate, they are entitled to vote and what’s more, it equal to a well thought-out and carefuly deliberated one. As my newfound Polish friend would say – If a man who cannot count finds a four-leaf clover, is he entitled to happiness?
Perhaps it’s about weighting them according to the knowledge and/or understanding of the voter. This would probably create a virtuous circle, as by giving people an incentive to learn what each candidate and party really stands for, more informed votes would be cast and in turn, better decisions made. Little chance of it ever happening, but hey, if the US election goes the wrong way again, maybe it’s a thought for the future.
Taking Sand to the Beach 
In the United States, voter registration has never been higher (70 % of the eligible voters ) and yet there has been a steady DECLINE in voter turnout. We had a more than 10 % spike last election after Bin Laden released his video 2 days before the election, and I’m sure there will be another spike this year when Obama becomes the next President. This may placate the masses for a while, but nothing has actually changed. In this day and age of modern technology, a NATIONAL POLL – instituted so the masses can be actively involved in their REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY on a weekly basis, adding in their 2 cents on all the major issues of the week – is the best remedy for ailing voter discontentment. Of course there is probably not one elected official who would ever WANT such a thing, and that has more to do with the FACT that we are a FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC ( google United States, Wikipedia, first sentence ) and NOT a representative democracy. The PEOPLE want to be heard, my most distinguished and learned gentlemen and ladies, or so many of them would not be registering. If you truly want the people to feel positive about politics in general, why not give them an opportunity to become actively involved, say once a week, allowing them to voice their opinions on the major issues. When that day comes to pass, you will have solved voter discontentment in the United States.
After the initial excitement of the US primaries, things appear to have slowed down for the time being. Mccain has the Republican nomination, Hilary and Barack are still fighting it out for the Democratic one.
The winner of this prolonged battle is likely to be John Mccain. How much damage is this doing to the Democrats as a party. Is it time for Hilary to concede for the good of her party and country?
Of course this is a special election, what with the possibility of either a women or a black man occupying the White House for the first time. Although their policies are really similar, Obama represents a real change. I think that America is ready for this change and now is the right time for it.
Bush, Clinton, Bush and then Clinton would hardly constitute change, and would also make a complete nonsense of the idea of America as a leading democracy. Well Mr Bush has tried his best to achieve this anyway.
The Bush years have been a complete disaster for America. His first election victory was very dubious, his second a joke. I remember at the time thinking how on earth could he be re-elected, who the hell would vote for him again?
The lead article above discusses this and i would like to give my own view on it.
I believe that each vote should in fact be given equal weight, but i don’t believe that everyone in the US should have the right to vote. The educated people’s of America, what with the vast majority living in the coastal areas, more than deserve the right to vote, the remainder of the country probably does not.
At least Religion will not play a big role in this election. The US is a conservative country with pockets of liberalism, let us just hope that commonsense prevails this time. The good news though is at least the three options are at a minimum okay. Good luck Barack Obama!