Dr. Pistoph: Pass or Fail
Our founding fathers were veritable geniuses. They constructed a framework of documents on which this country was built. They did so with great wisdom and foresight. It is amazing how their basic principles and tenets still make sense today. However with all of their brilliance they totally failed in one particular area. They made it so that anyone could vote (yes, it took awhile for blacks and women). I completely agree that every citizen should have the right to vote but I think to exercise this right you should have to be qualified to vote.
There was a great audio clip on YouTube in early 2009 where a reporter interviewed two women standing in a line in Detroit. When asked why they were standing in line they replied, “To get some money.” “What money?” asked the reporter. “Obama money,” they exclaimed. “And where does he get the money?” inquired the reporter. “I don’t know, from his stash,” was the reply. Someone commented on this exchange by saying, “what’s scary is these people are allowed to vote and to procreate.”
If I were one of the founding fathers knowing what I do today, I would have fought tooth and nail for our citizens to take and pass some sort of a test that qualifies them to vote. It would basically be a civics test of sorts. Sample questions might include 1) Name the three branches of the federal government and explain their functions; 2) How can the Constitution be amended? 3) What is the Bill of Rights? 4) What does the Constitution say the role of the federal government should be?
See, this test would not be ideological in nature. It might cause our schools to emphasize civics to a greater degree. And it would certainly weed out the people who might be persuaded to vote by a smooth-talking charlatan (as happened in the 2008 presidential election) when those people have no clue as to how their government works. This really shouldn’t be such a big deal. We take tests to receive our driver’s licenses. We take tests to be CPAs, lawyers, doctors and other important professions. Is taking a test to qualify to vote any less important?
Yes I’m being a Monday-morning quarterback to our founders, but they really screwed-up big time on this one. Meanwhile I want to know where I can get in line for some Obama money.
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