wow, we've already been off-track twice in less than an hour. God help us all.
ok, i've seen a couple references from Mr. Mephisto... so i'll pick on him.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by mr. mephisto
So, not having a certain level of education means you should lose your rights as a citizen?
If, on the other hand, you only allow a sub-set of the population to vote, then you have an oligarchy. Not even the most cynical political pundit thinks that the American system is an official oligarchy, to the best of my knowledge.
Of course they should. Otherwise you do not have a true democracy. If you select the alternative course of action, who decides those who are allowed to vote? You would revert to an old-style 19th century oligarchic system where only property owners (or similar) would be entitled to vote. And that's the thin end of the wedge.
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ok, i don't know how many times this needs to be said. i put it in caps at the start of the discussion so as to head these sorts of inflammatory remarks off at the pass. i'm at a loss on why it went there so quickly. no one is proposing that someone's rights be taken away.
::sighs:: people who choose not to register by themselves or prefer to sit at home on election day are not disenfranchised. that's a buzz word of our political times that seldom applies to reality.