Voter ID

In my less optimistic moments I think that people shouldn't be allowed to vote unless they can find the US on a map, explain the difference between America and the US, and ideally explain in broad terms the major points of the tragedy of the commons.

The last one I like to throw in because it might talk some libertarians out of being so cavalier with our democracy, but you know what, I know I'm wrong. It's not only on the tragedy of the commons count either, but on the whole shebang. It's not that it wouldn't be super-keen to have an informed and educated electorate, but rather that we can't possibly pretend to aspire to the American dream if we don't hold that all people are, in fact, created equal. That all their stupid ideas are, in fact, worth allowing onto the public stage, even if only in the form of thumbs up to the thinly veiled pandering of these actors we're now calling politicians.

The hope is that if you are really crazy stupid and think that the balancing of the government's budget is similar to balancing a small business budget, or worse, that of a household, then by all means, I hope you vote to counteract the crazy bastards who think every elderly person should get as many free, life-extending operations as our debtors see fit to pay for. Both positions are crazy, so if we inhibit one end of the spectrum from voting, then the other injurious rapscallions will start to rise in influence.

That, the math and the freedom of it, explain why the voter ID laws being enacted by Republicans in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania should dispirit you. By all means, all parties should try to win. A democracy relies on it. We should encourage the free and open discussion and even testing of ideas. It's possible that the Tea Party, as well as actual socialists (which, by the way our current president is not) have some great ideas that deserve to be tried. I doubt it on both counts, but while I'm very smart, I'm simply not smart enough to know the best way to run an incredibly complex system like our economy or our culture. Nor is anyone else alive. Paul Krugman seems to come close on the economy, I guess.

Here's what I hope. If you believe in conservative or liberal ideas, let's discuss them. Let's try them out even once a sufficient plurality of the public votes for the ideas or the smile of the pandering individual trying to sell them. However, if your party or the other tries to erode the very machinery of our democracy, tell them to go to hell. Ask them to stop, and if they don't, refuse to vote for them. We're actually and irrevocably in this together. There is no "taking back" the US from one or other party. Everyone invested in the taking of America lives here, and we were promised by our founding fathers that we would have a right to vote. It's one thing to disagree what colors to paint the walls of our fort. It's another to burn the place down so you can be in the position to decide once and for all.