I was bored so I wrote this down...let me know what you think.
Random Thought: The Intellects and the Government Written by TM
Over the course of time government has evolve from one ruler making all important decisions to the concept of direct democracy where all citizens of a nation are involved in the decision making. The United States of America is far from a direct democracy. In fact, the founders of the United States made government made sure that the layers of government were even further removed than they are today. When the constitution first got ratified the House of Representatives voted United States Senators in office. Senators were not elected by a direct vote of the population until last century. The Electors in the Electoral College also had more power, and voting rights overall were only given to white male landowners. The founders of the United States government were more than a little racist in their handing out of voting power, but they also feared the angry mob that is the regular public. Many probably believed the average man incapable of making political decisions. Today our founding fathers may still have the same thoughts.
In the late 18th century and early 19th century the Electoral College played a huge role. The founders created this system because they wanted to guarantee that a suitable person got elected to the highest office in the land. Communication and knowledge of candidates was hard to get, and the founders feared that a popular outcry would overcome common reason. Now days it can be argued that advertising and popular opinion overrules common reasoning. What is popular is not always right, but in the case of voting elections what is popular is right. One misstep of a candidate or one great spin of a speech or advertisement and the public can be swayed from one candidate to another in the blink of an eye. People now days, just like two centuries ago, vote for the candidate they feel most comfortable with. People vote for the candidate not necessarily best for the job, but the candidate who looks best, and often times the candidate who appeals to just one key issue.
Raise your right and if you think you know about the economics behind free trade, the diplomacy involved in foreign relations, or the politics involved in politics. Most of the nation is clueless when it comes to the actual facts, myself included. We dont know what goes on behind the closed doors at a Supreme Court hearing. We just want judges who either uphold abortion rights or do not. We dont know the ins and outs of law and order. We just want a Congress that takes guns off our streets or keeps guns in our homes. All we know about politics is what the politicians and the media let us know. So why is it that we are allowed to vote? Shouldnt we know who and what we are voting for before we vote? Great minds make great governments, not a majority of an ignorant public. If we are voting for a President because of the issues he stands for, but know nothing of those issues, should we be allowed to vote?
There, however, is another side of the equation. Not allowing the uneducated, poor, or otherwise disenfranchised the full rights of a democratic state leaves the state undemocratic. The people dont have a say when many of the people arent represented. The laborers, farmers, miners, secretaries, and construction workers may not be the most intellectual of all professions, but their voice should count too. Their occupation is just as important as any other, and without them we would be void of a great part of our country. Politicians rule over a country of ordinary people. Many of these people dont have college degrees and many work longer than from nine to five to make a living. In a government the voices of those who make up a majority of the population should have a voice. Even the term indirect democracy hardly applies when it comes to disallowing many not to vote, although the term has been in affect in the United States even when millions of African-Americans and women were not allowed their full rights.
Of course one could say that democracy is not the best system of government. John Adams who missed the Constitutional Convention favored a more monarchal system. Alexander Hamilton had the same viewpoints. However, corruption and tyranny are often the result. Recently in his Inaugural Address President Bush claimed that he would bring freedom and democracy to the oppressed people of the world. Having only a few dictate the actions of government gives one too much power to abuse. Letting the people rule still leads to corruption and illegal persuasion, but it is much more difficult to sway the ignorant minds of a hundred million than it is to change the mind of a couple of very reasonable aristocrats. To be blunt, putting the power in the hands of one class while disregarding another is just plain immoral. Yet it may not be all that unreasonable. Its been done before, and it could very easily happen again.
Voters often take advantage of their right to vote. Democracies are few and far between. Few have lasted longer than a couple hundred years. Weve all come across people and the thought has crossed our minds that they shouldnt be allowed to reproduce. They just have aura that surrounds them, and the same goes for voting. The United States is filled with people who vote on one issue and one issue only. These people are usually relatively unknowledgeable about the position they are voting on, much less the grand scheme of ideas being put forth by the candidates. It is a reality we have to live with, so also is the reality of television adds and spin-doctors. Often it has been said that people as a group are savage and stupid, but as individuals we are kind and smart. We need more of that individualism in politics, and we need more people who are willing to look at the bigger picture.
Random Thought: The Intellects and the Government Written by TM
Over the course of time government has evolve from one ruler making all important decisions to the concept of direct democracy where all citizens of a nation are involved in the decision making. The United States of America is far from a direct democracy. In fact, the founders of the United States made government made sure that the layers of government were even further removed than they are today. When the constitution first got ratified the House of Representatives voted United States Senators in office. Senators were not elected by a direct vote of the population until last century. The Electors in the Electoral College also had more power, and voting rights overall were only given to white male landowners. The founders of the United States government were more than a little racist in their handing out of voting power, but they also feared the angry mob that is the regular public. Many probably believed the average man incapable of making political decisions. Today our founding fathers may still have the same thoughts.
In the late 18th century and early 19th century the Electoral College played a huge role. The founders created this system because they wanted to guarantee that a suitable person got elected to the highest office in the land. Communication and knowledge of candidates was hard to get, and the founders feared that a popular outcry would overcome common reason. Now days it can be argued that advertising and popular opinion overrules common reasoning. What is popular is not always right, but in the case of voting elections what is popular is right. One misstep of a candidate or one great spin of a speech or advertisement and the public can be swayed from one candidate to another in the blink of an eye. People now days, just like two centuries ago, vote for the candidate they feel most comfortable with. People vote for the candidate not necessarily best for the job, but the candidate who looks best, and often times the candidate who appeals to just one key issue.
Raise your right and if you think you know about the economics behind free trade, the diplomacy involved in foreign relations, or the politics involved in politics. Most of the nation is clueless when it comes to the actual facts, myself included. We dont know what goes on behind the closed doors at a Supreme Court hearing. We just want judges who either uphold abortion rights or do not. We dont know the ins and outs of law and order. We just want a Congress that takes guns off our streets or keeps guns in our homes. All we know about politics is what the politicians and the media let us know. So why is it that we are allowed to vote? Shouldnt we know who and what we are voting for before we vote? Great minds make great governments, not a majority of an ignorant public. If we are voting for a President because of the issues he stands for, but know nothing of those issues, should we be allowed to vote?
There, however, is another side of the equation. Not allowing the uneducated, poor, or otherwise disenfranchised the full rights of a democratic state leaves the state undemocratic. The people dont have a say when many of the people arent represented. The laborers, farmers, miners, secretaries, and construction workers may not be the most intellectual of all professions, but their voice should count too. Their occupation is just as important as any other, and without them we would be void of a great part of our country. Politicians rule over a country of ordinary people. Many of these people dont have college degrees and many work longer than from nine to five to make a living. In a government the voices of those who make up a majority of the population should have a voice. Even the term indirect democracy hardly applies when it comes to disallowing many not to vote, although the term has been in affect in the United States even when millions of African-Americans and women were not allowed their full rights.
Of course one could say that democracy is not the best system of government. John Adams who missed the Constitutional Convention favored a more monarchal system. Alexander Hamilton had the same viewpoints. However, corruption and tyranny are often the result. Recently in his Inaugural Address President Bush claimed that he would bring freedom and democracy to the oppressed people of the world. Having only a few dictate the actions of government gives one too much power to abuse. Letting the people rule still leads to corruption and illegal persuasion, but it is much more difficult to sway the ignorant minds of a hundred million than it is to change the mind of a couple of very reasonable aristocrats. To be blunt, putting the power in the hands of one class while disregarding another is just plain immoral. Yet it may not be all that unreasonable. Its been done before, and it could very easily happen again.
Voters often take advantage of their right to vote. Democracies are few and far between. Few have lasted longer than a couple hundred years. Weve all come across people and the thought has crossed our minds that they shouldnt be allowed to reproduce. They just have aura that surrounds them, and the same goes for voting. The United States is filled with people who vote on one issue and one issue only. These people are usually relatively unknowledgeable about the position they are voting on, much less the grand scheme of ideas being put forth by the candidates. It is a reality we have to live with, so also is the reality of television adds and spin-doctors. Often it has been said that people as a group are savage and stupid, but as individuals we are kind and smart. We need more of that individualism in politics, and we need more people who are willing to look at the bigger picture.
