Worse than a Dictatorship

An election is very much like a football or basketball game. Every player knows that you play as hard as you can so that bad calls don't determine the outcome. You don't go home and groan and moan about the outcome and blame it on refs. Fans might, but players know you give it your all or nothing at all. Even in a court case, a district attorney will tell you that you make a good enough case on the merits and evidence that bad rulings by a judge or a bad witness doesn't break your whole case.

This is MUCH like an election. If the election is so close that small voter fraud matters, you didn't do a good enough job convincing your electorate that you were the right person for the job. Period.

But wait! Isn't it exciting how high the voter turn out is? It truly would be if it was indicative of how well educated Americans had made themselves! Is this the case? i highly doubt it. My guess is that the level of political awareness among voters in low turn out elections is far higher than in high turn out. i think we can safely say that between our education system in the US and the solid statistic that more than half of 18-30 year olds get their primary news from the Daily Show, citizenship and general political savvy are lower than ever. Interest may be up, but that doesn't indicate education. This unfortunately indicates a fistful of either popularity voting or racist voting (all races).

Why do i say this is worse than a dictatorship? What makes an authoritarian government (led by a dictator, czar, king, or military leader) dangerous? A dictator can decide things based on opinions and feelings and prejudices and fears, rather than logical process. This is unstable and dangerous to the world. The greater the voter turn out, combined with a lack of education and much decided based on fears and phobias, race and gender, religion, etc, the more illogical and dangerous the decision of the voters.

A colonial representative quoted in the movie The Patriot said in defense of not going to war with England, "i will not trade one tyrant 3,000 miles away for 3,000 tyrants 1 mile away." Why should be trade one uneducated dictator for 1 million uneducated voters? It has the same effect!

Am i advocating poll tests? No. But SHAME on the Republicans and the Democrats for supporting politics of fear, for encouraging mass voting, regardless of how thuroughly they have wrestled with issues. This is relying on the whims and desires of the mob. One other empire relied on this method. This is the only other empire to place their right hand over their heart. Rome. Anyone encouraged by this?