Always Reforming

The idea that everyone should vote, that every voice matters , is patently false.   We all know this.   We do not allow certain groups of people to vote because we do not trust that they would make wise decisions.  For instance, we do not allow thirteen-year-olds to vote because we know that they are generally not mature enough to weigh issues or evaluate candidates and make well-informed decisions.  Certain criminals are barred from voting  because they have demonstrated that they do not respect the rule of law and are not qualified to influence the political direction of our nation.   We are all fully aware and supportive of this principle--certain people should not vote.   So it should not be shocking to suggest that we should have some sort of objective standard, say, a basic civic literacy test that one passes before he can participate in the electoral system. But it's my God-given right to vote! you declare.  Okay. ...

I recently shared why I am not voting for Donald Trump because, as a conservative who often criticizes the Left, some people might get the impression that I am a Trump supporter.  Lest there is any misinformed individual out there who took my rejection of Trump as an endorsement of Biden, here is why I am not voting for Biden. My reasoning is simple, really.   I am a Christian.   I am a conservative.   I believe leaders should be honest.   I believe in freedom and equity for all people.   I am distrustful of the American aristocracy. If you agree with those statements, you should not vote for Joe Biden. Joe Biden, if he stands for anything at all, stands against everything that the historic Christian Church has taught.  He vocally supports abortion and the LGBT agenda, which should be enough to keep any Christian from voting for him.  He is not a Christian, nor is he a friend to the Christian Church. Joe Biden has embrace...

Get out and vote!   Voting is your civic duty! Your voice matters! Does it?   Does every voice matter?   Does every citizen of the United States who has arrived at the age of majority really have a valid opinion on matters of state? Maybe universal suffrage is a bad idea. The media is telling you that you need to vote.  Anytime the media is saying it, you probably have reason to doubt it. LeBron James and the rest of the NBA are telling you that you need to vote.  I guess being an athlete qualifies you to say such things. Facebook and Instagram are begging you to go out and get registered to vote.  There's no way they have an agenda! I've been rethinking democracy lately.  Maybe this whole "everyone has a voice" thing is a bad idea.  Maybe there's a reason that the United States is not, properly speaking, a Democracy.  Maybe our founding fathers created a Constitutional Republic to avoid the pitfalls of naked democracy. If you ...

Celebrities from Taylor Swift to LeBron James to Brad Pitt and Leo DiCaprio  are once again out spreading the message of the importance of voting (apparently they feel that being famous qualifies them to have an opinion; alas, a platform is no replacement for knowledge!).  These Hollywood types are trying to rile up the youth (a familiar statist and socialistic tactic) of this nation, a demographic that is traditionally progressive, but that rarely votes.  Millennials especially have distanced themselves from the political process, despite being highly-opinionated and strong-willed. The message being propagated is that everybody has a voice.  Everybody, we are told, has not only the right, but the responsibility, to vote.  Everyone has a civic duty to help decide public policy and who our civic leaders will be for the next 2, 4, or 6 years. But is that true? Should we encourage every eligible person to vote? Does an 18-year-old, fresh out of high school,...

Last week I received (among the litany of junk mail that I normally get) a colorful advertisement inviting me to place the weight of my vote behind Mike DeWine and Jon Husted , Republican candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor, respectively, here in my home state of Ohio.  Now, while I'm a right-leaning independent, this post will not be discussing the merits of any particular candidate or party.  I'd like to explore why we vote the way we do. As I perused the tri-fold flyer, three thoughts went through my head.  Firstly, I thought, "Is it really that time of year again?"  I'm beginning to think it's always that time of year!  Secondly, I couldn't help but to notice that the ad was printed on some incredibly-thick cardstock.  It was a really impressive piece of third-class mail!  The campaign donations must've been flowing in for Mr. DeWine this year. Finally, I was struck by the audacity of the claim on the front of the ad.  The tagline, ca...

It's that time of year again!  It's time for us law-abiding citizens to get to the polls and vote!  Some would call this a privilege, while others would insist that it's a right.  True 'muricans, however, remind you that it is your duty. Voting has rarely been as controversial in the good ol' United States of America as it is today, at least as far as the nature of that controversy goes.  Back in the day people fought over who was allowed to vote.  Was it only the landowners, the ruling class elite?  Should both men and women be allowed to cast their vote into the ballot box?  What about people whose skin is darker than your average Caucasian, and, if so, exactly how much melanin is too much before we assume you're not intellectual enough to vote?  Yeah, that was the kind of stuff we fought over for a long time. Not our proudest moment. Regardless, people wanted to vote and they fought for that right.  We're all about taxation with repr...