How Far We've Come
I know everyone is sick of election news, but this story made me choke on my oatmeal this morning.
Remember when you had to be a land owner to vote? Now, in Ohio you just have to be aware of a park bench to register to vote. Honestly, I am shocked.
As a woman, I am very aware that the right to vote has not always been equally extended, and voting laws have needed some work. But, let's be honest, is universal suffrage the ideal? The Federalists didn't think so, and I suggest we reexamine our assumptions about voting, especially in this time when it is so relevant.
Well, who would you like to disenfranchise first? Women? Dark people? The disabled? That smelly guy behind you in line at the supermarket?
Or just everyone who disagrees with your point of view? The last one? Of course.
It must be so galling to some conservatives that everyone is supposed to be treated the same under the law. It's true though, and acting on the opinion you've expressed would require the dismantling of our republic and the institution of some other form of government. Not all of us yearn for a religious dictatorship, so I think you're going to have to live with disappointment. American ideals are antithetical to your ideals. Poor you.
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You really, truly believe that someone should be barred from the voting process, even if they meet the minimum requirements (citizenship, residency, age, and no prior or resolution of felony charges) simply because they are poor?
Sick.
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You should probably just move to Iran. They basically share the same distaste for democracy as you do.
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I'm disgusted that anyone should oppose universal suffrage. Any citizen of this country has a right to vote. I am of the lowest socioeconomic status, I am disabled, and I still do not qualify for any sort of aid, and were I not an extremely highly achieved student with quite a bit of financial aid who works two jobs in addition to attending school, I would be homeless.
Newsflash: being homeless makes me no less an American citizen with the rights of an American citizen.
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