*"**A republic, madam, if you can keep it.**" - Ben Franklin On of the issues I have with the modem electorate is that they, in large part, do not have the education, temperament, or civic and patriotic spirit that I think is required to maintain the republic. * "Depend upon it, Sir, it is dangerous to open so fruitful a source of controversy and altercation as would be opened by attempting to alter the qualifications of voters; there will be no end to it. New claims will arise; women will demand the vote; lads from 12 to 21 will think their rights not enough attended to; and every man who has not a farthing, will demand an equal voice with any other, in all acts of state. It tends to confound and destroy all distinctions, and prostrate all ranks to one common level. " - John Adams
One thing that many people today ignore is the fact that our country was not originally, nor was it ever intended to be, a democracy. Many people voting today vote only to increase their own lot in life, increasing the welfare state or decreasing their tax burden, not thinking who is best for their state or nation. They take no responsibility outside themselves. "The true reason of requiring any qualification, with regard to property, in voters, is to exclude such persons as are in so mean a situation that they are esteemed to have no will of their own. If these persons had votes, they would be tempted to dispose of them under some undue influence or other. This would give a great, an artful, or a wealthy man, a larger share in elections than is consistent with general liberty." - William Blackstone Once it was required that in order to vote you be a person of some means, not rich, but established. This was done to ensure the electorate couldn't be easily bought off, and because those with property would take their voting responsibilities more seriously. "As each freeholder came before the sheriff, his name was called out in a loud voice, and the sheriff inquired how he would vote. The freeholder replied by giving the name of his preference. The appropriate clerk then wrote down the voter's name, the sheriff announced it as enrolled, and often the candidate for whom he had voted arose, bowed, and publicly thanked him. " -Charles S. Sydnor Something else to note, voting wasn't always something one did in private where you wouldn't have to account for you actions. You stood up for who you supported, and often rose or fell alongside the same. Often times the increases in the franchise of voting were motivated by corrupt officials look to expand their powers. Now I certainly don't think that restricting people from voting on the basis of race or gender makes sense, but I could see using other litmus tests such as property ownership and military or civic service in order to grant the franchise to vote. On Tue, Apr 17, 2012 at 3:51 PM, Jerry Barnes <critic...@gmail.com> wrote: > > "All of those megalomaniacs have supporters, contributors and voters from > your pool of decent people." > > Maureen, I don't know how I can explain it any clearer. I'll try, even > though I am pretty sure it'll be a waste of time. > > Let's take Rick Santorum. Many people voted for him because he was NOT > Mitt Romney. Now, that Romney has pretty much wrapped up the nomination, > many people will vote for him because he is NOT Obama. They are not > "supporters" in the traditional sense. They are choosing the lesser of two > evils (in their opinion at least). > > Just to show the disconnect between leaders and their constituents, ask > yourself the following: > > Where do the people of the USA stand on illegal immigration compared to > their elected leaders? Voter ID reform? Foreign aid? Foreign > interference? > > Anyway, when I consider all of the people I know, am acquainted with, and > am associated with, the super majority are decent people. This includes > barbers, barista's, clerks, bartenders, coworkers, friends, family, > students, teachers, and so on. If this isn't the case for you, > my condolences. I'd be interested on how this relates to others on the > list. Do you know a bunch of decent people or are you surrounded by douche > bags? > > One more thing. Many voters are stupid, indifferent, or distracted. The > best sound bite wins. This doesn't make those people evil. When one > considers that Jersey Shore can stay on the air, that American Idol is must > see TV, and that many people are more concerned with the Yankees winning > the pennant instead of worrying about balancing the federal budget, it > shouldn't surprise anyone we are stuck with the leaders we have. > > > > "Either the electorate has control of who is elected, or we are living in a > fantasy land in which we the people are totally under the will of those who > are really running the country, yet believe our votes matter. Which do you > think it is?" > > It can't be a combination of both? The people are under the power of the > corporate regime that they put in office during the last election. They > might be able to choose the other regime during the next election. > > J > -- > Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote. - George Jean > Nathan > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:349995 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
