Just a moment here, now that we have gone through the controversies of the United States Presidential Election. This is not the first time in history that there have been public protests or rioting over the election of a President, nor the first time that the ELECTORAL COLLEGE came into question because the vote was so close. Many of us think a Popular Vote is long overdue. I think Freedom of Expression is important.
For those of you who are not familiar with our election process history, at the founding of the nation, it was only MALE LAND OWNERS who got to vote. That was based on European standards in which people of nobility got to "vote", or at least have their opinions heard at meetings. (Secret ballot voting came in with Democracy.) Most of those men who voted in the early days of our country were also employers. Our population was not educated over-all, and it was wealthy or noble men who were educated. In the United States women were allowed to vote in 1920. Now due to literacy, as well as the information age, more people than ever before are QUALIFIED TO VOTE.
And yet, many do not.
On the way home the other day I took a local bus that also picks up students from some local private schools. A group of intelligent and energetic teenagers got on and they were discussing the election. One of them said to me "It's all fixed!"
I said, "I'll forgive you that because you are too young to vote. But, as soon as you can, start voting and be as intelligent as you can be about it. People who do not bother to vote should not complain about an election being "fixed" when they are not part of the process!
This was not the first person I'd encountered in the previous week or two that told me that it was not worth voting because the elections are always fixed. The mistrust is there and it's been fortified by those who find conspiracy in just about everything. Not being able to know anything for sure in this fast changing word with ever more information available on the Internet every minute can make you overly informed and indecisive but when it comes to Democracy, you have to use it or loose it!
HISTORY OF THE HOUSE - U.S. GOV - WOMENS RIGHTS - VOTING
I also encountered a Korean American Man, about ready to get his Teaching Credential who has been in the U.S. 23 years and HAD NOT BOTHERED TO EVEN START BECOMING A CITIZEN. I asked him why not and he shrugged and said it was expensive. I asked him how much. He said he thought it was $800. Meanwhile at our public library here they have informational programs and tutorials on how to get your citizenship circa 2016.
There are many people, not just from so called Terrorist Countries that have remained in the United States illegally, and I do think that because of Terrorism, we will have to start asking WHY ? more often. I encourage all the people who have come into our country as refugees to become citizens. Yet I've met those also who have not even started the process. Most of our cash job workers are not legal. They have their own economy and network for work that does exclude many people who are legal. In California we have given everything to illegal immigrants that they would get with citizenship, including education, heath care, driver's licenses and ID cards, and maybe there is little incentive left.
One of the biggest complaints I hear about REGISTERING TO VOTE is that it puts a person on lists to be a Juror. Being a Juror is apparently a P.I.A. especially because it's illegal for an employer to fire you over it, but many people do have employers who are mean about your taking any time off. I was once on call for THREE DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS FOR JURY DUTY, based on where I worked, where I lived, and where I HAD lived. I remember calling in to say I could not do it one time and being told off.
Are we in for one hell of a ride with President Trump? I think so. I also think the experience of being President of the U.S. will be a humbling experience for him. He has decided he will not take the $400,000 salary that is paid. Other past Presidents including J.F.K. who didn't need the money gave it to charity.
So if you are reading this and are one of the bright young people who are becoming educated and have definitive ideas about how life should be lived here in the U.S.A., I think it's good that you're thinking, and good that you're participating, but ask yourself, WHY so many people are not getting their citizenship, are not registering to vote, and are not voting when they could be!
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