Showing posts with label founding fathers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label founding fathers. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Something scary is in the air
It’s the scariest time of the year. And no, I’m not talking about Halloween. I’m talking about election time.
This is my last column prior to election day and I could tell you who to vote for but I have no intention of ever doing that. Ever.
I just hope that people will vote based on knowledge and fact instead of voting for the person they share a skin color with or the person their spouse or favorite media mogul told them to.
The real scary thing going on right now is that people DO vote based on those things. And with an election as close as some are projecting it to be, I hate to see the whole thing decided by people who don’t know what they heck they’re doing.
Whether it’s the presidential election or the race for your local congressional seat or even your state assemblyman or senator, informed decisions are crucial.
Like you, I’ve been inundated with political mailers and commercials and even water cooler talk from people who want me to vote for their candidate. Facebook has been almost unbearable with all the political banter — as if anyone’s Facebook post has ever swayed someone else’s mind. Actually, I’m sure it has and that just leads to me thinking that my being scared is warranted.
The scariest thing for me, though, is the fear. The number of people who seem to think that these United States are so fragile that any one man — be it Barack Obama or Mitt Romney — could bring about its demise in four short years is truly frightening.
There are a system of checks and balances in place to prevent that from happening. Some of those checks in balances are the electoral system itself. Others are those we elect.
While my friend and fellow columnist Bob Confer expressed some concern in his most recent writing that we are headed towards a monarchy, I have no such fear. I believe that the system put in place by our founders remains intact and completely capable of protecting us from the potential that any one man (or woman for that matter) could destroy our freedoms.
That’s not to say that everything is hunky-dory. No, I think that America is sick and in need of a healing. I think we’ve become far too obsessed with what government can do for us and much less interested in what we can do for ourselves … or for our country.
When we look upon government to save us, ask yourself what we need saving from. The all-too-obvious answer is ourselves. So cut out the middleman and do it yourself. Vote not for the person who’s going to help you the best but who’s going to help America the best. Maybe it’s the same person. Maybe it’s not. But this systemic greed doesn’t flow from the top down. It flows from the bottom up. And only we can change it.
As you get ready to vote next Tuesday, I ask only that you base your vote on knowledge instead of fear.
Scott Leffler is a raving lunatic whose weekly rantings are available each week in this paper and online. Shorter daily-ish rantings are available on Twitter @scottleffler.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Just because it's your right, doesn't make it right
Last week’s column noted the oddity of people not voting when their vote could make all the difference in the world.
I hope you didn’t take that to mean I think everyone should vote. I don’t.
You may have a Constitutional right to vote, but that doesn’t mean that it’s always the right thing to do. In fact, there are people who vote in every election who have no business doing so — right or not.
All across the country there are organizations (Republicans) who want to create so-called “Voter ID” laws under the assumption that people who shouldn’t be allowed to vote (illegal immigrants — and by immigrants, I mean Mexicans) are voting and swaying elections (in favor of Democrats).
First of all, I’m not sure that this is a real problem. In other words, I don’t think it’s happening. At least not to the extent that these organizations would have you believe. Secondly, there are greater problems with voting, namely that complete idiots’ votes count exactly the same as mine.
And as long as you’re not one of those complete idiots, you should feel that it’s a problem, too.
The Founding Fathers argued for months about how much of a right you should be allowed to influence the government. While it’s popular to believe now that they all were in favor of us having complete control, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, until the ratification of the 17th Amendment — less than 100 years ago — we didn’t have a direct vote on the vast majority of our federal government. Judges are appointed by the president, the president is still technically elected by the Electoral College, and Senators were elected by the states themselves, not the voters. All we voted on was the House and some didn’t even think we should be allowed that right.
See, the Founding Fathers knew that for the most part, mankind is selfish and uninformed — both dangerous qualities, but a downright threat to national security when combined.
But now we’ve got selfish uninformed people picking our elected officials. And then we get mad at them when they do what we want them to do — or when the don’t do what we want them to do.
Rather than a “Voter ID” law, I’d like to see a “Voter IQ” law. Not literally, mind you. I don’t want only “smart” people to be allowed to vote. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be allowed to vote and I’m selfish, too!
I’d like to see a test when you enter the polling place with simple questions that anyone who’s voting should know the answers to. Things like:
• What political party controls Congress?
• Who is the current vice president of the United States?
• What state was Mitt Romney formerly governor of?
I’d like the questions to be different each election year, but I’d like them to remain basic like that. And I’d like there to be five of them. Whatever percent you get right, your vote counts that much. This would help to weed out the people that vote because they feel they’re supposed to, but don’t do the required research — or the people who go and vote for the person they were “told” to vote for, but have no idea why they’re voting for that person.
Although voting is a right, we need to stop treating it as such and start treating it like the responsibility the Founding Fathers were afraid to give us because they knew we’d screw it up.
I hope you didn’t take that to mean I think everyone should vote. I don’t.
You may have a Constitutional right to vote, but that doesn’t mean that it’s always the right thing to do. In fact, there are people who vote in every election who have no business doing so — right or not.
All across the country there are organizations (Republicans) who want to create so-called “Voter ID” laws under the assumption that people who shouldn’t be allowed to vote (illegal immigrants — and by immigrants, I mean Mexicans) are voting and swaying elections (in favor of Democrats).
First of all, I’m not sure that this is a real problem. In other words, I don’t think it’s happening. At least not to the extent that these organizations would have you believe. Secondly, there are greater problems with voting, namely that complete idiots’ votes count exactly the same as mine.
And as long as you’re not one of those complete idiots, you should feel that it’s a problem, too.
The Founding Fathers argued for months about how much of a right you should be allowed to influence the government. While it’s popular to believe now that they all were in favor of us having complete control, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, until the ratification of the 17th Amendment — less than 100 years ago — we didn’t have a direct vote on the vast majority of our federal government. Judges are appointed by the president, the president is still technically elected by the Electoral College, and Senators were elected by the states themselves, not the voters. All we voted on was the House and some didn’t even think we should be allowed that right.
See, the Founding Fathers knew that for the most part, mankind is selfish and uninformed — both dangerous qualities, but a downright threat to national security when combined.
But now we’ve got selfish uninformed people picking our elected officials. And then we get mad at them when they do what we want them to do — or when the don’t do what we want them to do.
Rather than a “Voter ID” law, I’d like to see a “Voter IQ” law. Not literally, mind you. I don’t want only “smart” people to be allowed to vote. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be allowed to vote and I’m selfish, too!
I’d like to see a test when you enter the polling place with simple questions that anyone who’s voting should know the answers to. Things like:
• What political party controls Congress?
• Who is the current vice president of the United States?
• What state was Mitt Romney formerly governor of?
I’d like the questions to be different each election year, but I’d like them to remain basic like that. And I’d like there to be five of them. Whatever percent you get right, your vote counts that much. This would help to weed out the people that vote because they feel they’re supposed to, but don’t do the required research — or the people who go and vote for the person they were “told” to vote for, but have no idea why they’re voting for that person.
Although voting is a right, we need to stop treating it as such and start treating it like the responsibility the Founding Fathers were afraid to give us because they knew we’d screw it up.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Take a look at us now
I’m not sure why, but we seem to have a tendency to romanticize the past and fantasize the future. We look around at the world and think, “this must be the low point.”
Just think of American history. We idealize the founding fathers, placing them up on a pedestal of perfection, thinking that they knew exactly what they were doing and they did so perfectly, righteously and with complete disregard for self interest.
We look at our lying, cheating, philandering politicians and wish we had the kind of politicians that existed decades ago. You know — the lying, cheating, philandering kind.
The truth is, humanity is humanity. And the type of person who wants to be a politician in 2012 was exactly the same type of person that wanted the be a politician in 1812. They cut back-room deals, had affairs, and lined their own pockets. It’s just that now there’s television cameras around 24 hours a day so they get caught a lot more.
Think of your family history. Grandma and grandpa will tell you that the world was a much better place when they were younger. Smarter. Safer. Nicer. Cleaner. And great grandma and great granpa would say it was even smarter, safer, nicer and cleaner before grandma and grandpa were born.
You don’t even have to go back that far. Just go to your own youth. How many times growing up did you say “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.” Probably a lot. And yet, looking back, you don’t remember boredom. You remember pickup hockey games, catching crayfish and long walks through the field behind your house — or whatever your equivalent may be.
The world is the world. And people are people. Truth is, things haven’t changed that much since great grandma and great grandpa were doing their thing. Maybe it was cleaner, though.
Of course, we imagine that our lives will get easier. Next year will be better. You’ll eat better, excercise, have more money, get the girl, whatever.
Oh, and society is going to figure out what ails it next year, too. We’ll get rid of the jerks in office, have sweeping changes to make sure we never get taken advantage of again, invent flying cars, cure cancer and end world hunger.
My daughter and I were discussing the other day how much English has devolved from Shakespearean time to the American Revolution to now — and how much further it’s devolved because of text messaging. It made us wonder how much worse it will be in 200 years and what society is going to think 200 years from now looking back on today. I joked that in 200 years, Jersey Shore may be high brow. I certainly hope not.
The beautiful thing is, of course, we don’t live in Shakespearean times. Or during the revolution. Or 200 years from now. We live now. And when we look back on now, we’re going to remember that it was the best time ever.
Just think of American history. We idealize the founding fathers, placing them up on a pedestal of perfection, thinking that they knew exactly what they were doing and they did so perfectly, righteously and with complete disregard for self interest.
We look at our lying, cheating, philandering politicians and wish we had the kind of politicians that existed decades ago. You know — the lying, cheating, philandering kind.
The truth is, humanity is humanity. And the type of person who wants to be a politician in 2012 was exactly the same type of person that wanted the be a politician in 1812. They cut back-room deals, had affairs, and lined their own pockets. It’s just that now there’s television cameras around 24 hours a day so they get caught a lot more.
Think of your family history. Grandma and grandpa will tell you that the world was a much better place when they were younger. Smarter. Safer. Nicer. Cleaner. And great grandma and great granpa would say it was even smarter, safer, nicer and cleaner before grandma and grandpa were born.
You don’t even have to go back that far. Just go to your own youth. How many times growing up did you say “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.” Probably a lot. And yet, looking back, you don’t remember boredom. You remember pickup hockey games, catching crayfish and long walks through the field behind your house — or whatever your equivalent may be.
The world is the world. And people are people. Truth is, things haven’t changed that much since great grandma and great grandpa were doing their thing. Maybe it was cleaner, though.
Of course, we imagine that our lives will get easier. Next year will be better. You’ll eat better, excercise, have more money, get the girl, whatever.
Oh, and society is going to figure out what ails it next year, too. We’ll get rid of the jerks in office, have sweeping changes to make sure we never get taken advantage of again, invent flying cars, cure cancer and end world hunger.
My daughter and I were discussing the other day how much English has devolved from Shakespearean time to the American Revolution to now — and how much further it’s devolved because of text messaging. It made us wonder how much worse it will be in 200 years and what society is going to think 200 years from now looking back on today. I joked that in 200 years, Jersey Shore may be high brow. I certainly hope not.
The beautiful thing is, of course, we don’t live in Shakespearean times. Or during the revolution. Or 200 years from now. We live now. And when we look back on now, we’re going to remember that it was the best time ever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)