During the electrons, advertisements would promote people, especially the "youth," to vote. Honestly, if you know what's going on the in the world and care, its your right and prerogative to vote. However, if you have no idea what each of the running candidates believe in, then you should not vote. A uneducated vote is like pin the tail on the donkey: it's not likely that you'll get the result you're looking for.
The point of the United States democracy is for the American citizens to choose the people that they want to represent them in the House of Representative, in the Senate and as President(when looking at a national level). Do you really want to randomly choose someone who could very well have completely opposite views that yours to represent YOUR thoughts? No. You would want a representative that shares your view points, right? Casting an uneducated vote is not practical when your and your fellow Americans' future is at stake. An uneducated vote is not worth the risk. Seriously, if you're willing to stand in the long lines to vote, you should at least take a few hours to research the candidates and determine who you think you'd want to represent you. Forming an educated vote does not take too much effort and is well worth you spend deciding on your vote.
It is your future. Who do you want to represent it?
Resources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE2YE8hadnk
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.economicpopulist.org/files/donkey.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.economicpopulist.org/category/topic-meta-tags/recession&usg=__ajCx47c8O_44Dsy3HAxVn2ULSs4=&h=200&w=200&sz=8&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=0P1UA5kSxU7ZoM:&tbnh=155&tbnw=154&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpin%2Bthe%2Btail%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bdonkey%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D751%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=520&vpy=411&dur=54&hovh=160&hovw=160&tx=138&ty=50&ei=SmiRTJLbAsP88Aag87CkBQ&oei=SmiRTJLbAsP88Aag87CkBQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mbc/lowres/mbcn546l.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/p/pin_the_tail_on_the_donkey.asp&usg=__qV4_zILcQ8C9MKnR57Z-h-XHrc0=&h=400&w=400&sz=33&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=QTakF8fGaT9K2M:&tbnh=155&tbnw=154&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpin%2Bthe%2Btail%2Bon%2Bthe%2Bdonkey%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1024%26bih%3D751%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=653&vpy=348&dur=6015&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=126&ty=114&ei=CWiRTOOkGcH98AbEhvShBQ&oei=CWiRTOOkGcH98AbEhvShBQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:0
I would have to disagree with your argument that people who are uninformed should not vote. This is the exact value that leads to elitist groups or some form of the proletariat to come into power and devalue the worth of other citizens. These interest groups grab hold of power and keep it or lose it following violent revolutions. However, these revolutions might never occur if these people remain "uneducated". With that said, government is the product of the people. Therefore ALL individuals have the right to voice their opinion. In theory, each individuals existence is what constitutes a government. Who's to say what is considered informed? What if an individual decided to say that you shouldnt vote because you dont have a graduate degree in political science, or that only people in certain occupations can vote? The argument that uninformed CITIZENS shouldnt vote rips open the door to new limitations. These doors will eventually lead to everyone's rights being devalued, including your own.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying that restrictions need or should be placed. I'm saying that it doesn't take much effort to become an "informed" voter and that if people are willing to stand in the line for a few hours to vote, they should do a little research to know what they are voting for. My point is that one should not vote on superficial grounds like the name of the candidate or do "eeny, meeny, miny, moe" in the voting booth. In our class we initially defined these types of methods as an uninformed vote.
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