Freedom From Choice
Tim Bean
8/23/2012
With all of the hand wringing and consternation by the Democrat Party over voter ID laws being passed and upheld in many states across our country; as an attempt to keep lower income, and minority voters from being able to exercise their constitutional right to vote; because many of these individuals may not have a valid photo ID, it does make me sad that we live in a country that espouses the precepts of freedom, and democracy and puts up barriers to those same precepts. However, if this is such a big deal and means so much to the Democrats, then I suggest the Democratic Party leaders in each of those states organize a system where they offer free transportation services to get as many of those disenfranchised voters to wherever they need to go, in order for them to obtain a valid ID. Then on Election Day offer a similar service to get these now legal voters to their respective voting precincts. It is not a perfect system, but it would show that the Democrats are definitively concerned with those individuals’ right to vote as they say they are. Should the Democrats fail to act in such a way on their supposed concerns for those affected by the new voter ID laws, then according to one study it could leave roughly 5 million people unable to exercise their right to participate in our democracy, and that is certainly not a good thing. But, what if there is a greater travesty being perpetrated on not just those who may not have a valid ID card? What if there is a bipartisan effort to deny ALL Americans the ability to vote for a candidate other than the “big two?” Well, many may think that there is nowhere that either the GOP or the Dem’s actually see eye to eye, but when it comes to ballot access, they are very much arm in arm in ensuring that a third party candidate has as difficult a time as possible in getting their candidates’ name(s) on states’ ballots, thus ensuring that the duopoly continues.
Take for example the recent attempts in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma to bar Libertarian Party Presidential candidate Gov. Gary Johnson’s name to appear on those states’ ballots this coming November. If you are an ardent Democrat or Republican then this probably makes you very, very happy; but it shouldn’t. It makes you happy because it strengthens your party’s chances at obtaining victory, and we all want to win, anything that gives you an edge huh? However, it should make you sad because it amounts to a violation of one of the fundamental principles required of a democracy, and that is enabling the people to choose how, and who they wish to represent them – it is still “We the People” right?
These attempts to bar a candidate’s access to states’ ballots smacks of collusion by the powers that be, and beg the question, “What are they afraid of?” I mean if the Grand Old Party and the Democratic Party are so fantastic and truly offer everything that all Americans could ever want, then quite honestly they should welcome any and all challengers, because no other party or candidate could or would pose a significant enough challenge to them. The thing is though; I think both parties are scared of having someone expose the ruse that is the status quo. The fact that there are almost as many registered independents as there are registered Republicans in this country, and that number (of independents) is only growing is a definitive sign that a viable third party candidate could upset the apple cart – if that viable third party candidate were given fair and equal treatment. What would be fair and equal treatment? Oh, I don’t know, allowing that candidate’s name to appear on every states’ ballots would be a good start; then maybe allowing them to participate in debates, so that voters can hear where they stand on issues; but thank God we live in a country that is working to ensure that will never happen (yeah, I am being facetious there).
Look, if you truly believe in the precepts of what this country was founded on, then regardless of your political leanings you should want ALL citizens the ability to not just vote, but to vote for the candidate(s), whom they want to vote for; that is called a democracy. If not, and you wish to protect whichever of the “big two” you like best, then I suppose “We the People” means nothing anymore, and our country is more an oligarchy than a democracy. A democracy is only as viable as the choices it offers the people, the fewer the choices, the less democratic it becomes.
Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? It means that we choose between two bodies of real, though not avowed, autocrats. We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. (Helen Keller) – Yeah, that Helen Keller.
Choice (noun): (1) The power, right, or liberty to choose; option.
(2) An alternative.
Constitutional Republic, not a Democracy
David,
Thank you for taking the time to stop by, read, and respond to “Freedom of Choice.” Yes, we have a Constitutional Republic, not a democracy; thank you for pointing that out; but that still does not solve, answer, or excuse the point of the article. As a constitutional republic, we have, as is in the title, a constitution, which grants rights to all its people, not the selective granting of rights to those who simply fall into one or two camps, by those who run those two camps; thus my questioning as to whether or not it is still “We the People?” Our rights are supposed to be preordained by our creator, not granted to us by government. As such, under the precepts of the Social Contract, of which was greatly influential in the formation of our country, it is the people who bestow government with its power, and in turn the government should not impinge, infringe, nor deny us those rights. Under this social contract, if government does become too invasive in the rights of its people, then the people have the power to dissolve the government and establish a new government. This was the genius of our constitution because our founders saw the need to have those who represent us undergo public elections on a regular basis, with the idea that this would empower the people to keep the government honest and forthright in defense of those preordained rights. Unfortunately we are now where we are due in no small part to voter apathy and general complacence on the part of the citizenry. While I may be an idealist, so were those who founded this great country of ours, as is anyone who wants to make the world a better place; like Jesus, Buddha, Frederick Douglas, Martin Luther King, and the list goes on.
Again, thank you for stopping by and taking time out of your day to read and comment. Any and all comments are welcome, I am not here to censor, nor do I profess to have all of the answers.
Sincerely,
Tim