Mark Gregson wrote:
> > > In the U.S. every voter registers for a party (or as an independent -- as I recall >the rules vary considerably from > > What? You mean to say that you cannot vote in the US unless you register your >"preference"? Is that true? And if it is, what's the point of it? Since your vote >is secret, why register a preference? > No -- as I'm sure you saw when you read the rest of my post. As to what the point is, that's a good question, and I will have to defer to one of our southern experts. I remember my first year in US school, in 9th grade in Seattle. It was an election year and we held a mock convention in our civics class. I hadn't a clue as to what was going on. > > As to voting or supporting a party: I'm not sure that I follow what Elder Jensen was >saying. What's the point of voting for a party if you don't accept their policies? He wasn't talking about voting, he was talking about becoming active in a party so as to act as a force for good from within the party. > The Brethren have always told us to study the issues and then support the candidate >that best represents our interests or who supports the issues we believe in. If a >candidate supports things that we are opposed to, then why would we vote for him or >her? Okay, granted, probably every candidate supports some things that we are >opposed to, but if a candidate supports many things we strongly oppose, why would we >vote for him or her? > You shouldn't. But as above, that's not what either the 1P statement or Pres. Jensen's remarks were addressing. > > I once worked with a lady from Malaysia. She said that theoretically they have >democracy there but "something always happens to the opposition". She said that >speaking against the government would get you into trouble. She was bemused when I >told her that in order to be a patriotic Canadian you _had_ to speak against the >government. > This is even true in Singapore, unfortunately. Of course, Canada evolved into a dominion, not a colony with a history of brutal repression like Malaya (the British forerunner to Singapore and Malaysia). Her Majesty's Leader of the Loyal Opposition must appear oxymoronic to many people. > > ========= Mark Gregson [EMAIL PROTECTED] ========= -- Marc A. Schindler Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada -- Gateway to the Boreal Parkland “We do not think that there is an incompatibility between words and deeds; the worst thing is to rush into action before the consequences have been properly debated…To think of the future and wait was merely another way of saying one was a coward; any idea of moderation was just an attempt to disguise one’s unmanly character; ability to understand a question from all sides meant that one was totally unfitted for action.” – Pericles about his fellow-Athenians, as quoted by Thucydides in “The Peloponessian Wars” Note: This communication represents the informal personal views of the author solely; its contents do not necessarily reflect those of the author’s employer, nor those of any organization with which the author may be associated. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^^=============================================================== This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^^===============================================================
