"America Votes 2008" (better title: The Right to Vote)

CNN held debates for Democratic and Republican hopefuls for the 2008 ticket:
1. CNN Republican debate: Video streams and downloads
2. CNN Democratic debate: Video streams and downloads


I've probably said this already, but when the time comes, drop the "vote or die" bullshit. It is not your duty and obligation as a United States citizen to vote. People can complain about the extremely low voter turn-outs, but that does not mean that having higher turn-outs would be more productive or more beneficial.

What I would like to suggest is that informed and attentive votes are what we need to maintain a properly functioning democracy. Plato, in fact, ranked pure democracies as the second lowliest form of governance...and for good reason: if a society's actions are determined by people with little knowledge of what is at hand, the results are going to be far from ideal.¹

However, to deny anyone the right to vote also flies in the face of democratic society. Accordingly, I feel that it is best to leave the right in tact while acknowledging social responsibility. In that sense, everyone can and should vote, but only if they've put in the time to have a fairly sophisticated grasp of the issues and what is at stake. It is an entirely voluntary measure: if you wish to vote, you have a social responsibility to educate yourself, but you should not have one without the other.

If this principle became the norm, the discourse of political campaigns would be vastly different. It would no longer focus on "swing voters" and sound bites, it would be a genuine cultural discussion of policy and credentials. No Swift Boat Vets, no deception... those participating in the elections would be the ones who have dedicated their time to researching everything at hand and in doing so have earned their right to vote.

Neither you nor I would want Paris Hilton to have any influence on any general election.


¹Yep, I did say this before (albeit more elegantly):

I think Plato was correct in calling unmitigated democracy one of the lowliest forms of government (just above tyranny, in fact): while largely self-determining, it lacks virtue.

More:
i. Donkey voting