+75 It's stupid to say that only educated people knowledgeable about politics should vote. Uneducated people are going to be affected by laws, so they fully have the right to vote since they are part of the general public, amirite?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

People who NW'd want to take away the voice of the uneducated? Wat?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

This is downvoted? What the fucking fuck.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

It's not always their fault that they are uneducated. They are educated enough to know what they want from a president, but not enough to know the impact it will have on others. But really, most people from each political party don't care about what happens to the opposing party. After all, we are a democracy, and if the uneducated can't vote, then it's not a true democracy. All voices need to be heard, as long as they are citizens of the country. And before someone goes off on me about how has the opportunity to be educated, sometimes that isn't an option. They live in an environment in were the first few things on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs aren't met, and can't move forward. They don't have the ability to learn, and it's not relevant to their situation because they can only do the bare minimum to survive. </endrant>

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Holy cow i just realized all my typos.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It isn't a democracy, and we are pretty much already set up in such a way as to have a failsafe against the uneducated masses, that's more our less what the electoral college is for.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Unfortunately, the electoral college has its own problems too. Like having the votes unevenly distributed.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I agree that not everybody has the opportunity to be educated and if you don't know much about politicas that's ok but you should at least be somewhat educated about what the candidates are going to do or what their opinions are so you don't say I'll just vote for him/her because they are democratic and I think that's what I am.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I agree. When I wrote this, I was referring to the people who are like, "Trashy people shouldn't be allowed to vote, they're stupid!" I do agree that people SHOULD be informed, but if they're not, it doesn't mean they don't count as a citizen.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiii

by Anonymous 12 years ago

If we're going for a Democratic and "fair" society, then yes, the uneducated should have a voice. However, if we took emotion out of the equation and built our society around what's actually best for us as a species, uneducated people would not be able to vote. Whatever is being voted for affects everybody, and uneducated people aren't likely to pick the "correct" choice. They're incredibly easy to fool, and politicians don't hesitate for a second to take advantage of that. So, while it's callous and unfair to say uneducated people shouldn't vote, it's logically "right" to say they shouldn't.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Because uneducated people magically have no needs and/or unable to realize which party best suits them.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Who said anything about no needs? And as for that second part, that's EXACTLY FUCKING CORRECT. You just used my own point as a counter-point. Look at it this way: There are two people trying to adopt a child. One is a malevolent pedophile offering the child candy, and the other is a nice person that would want the child to eat their vegetable and such. Would you want the child to make the choice, or a responsible adult?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

There's a difference between being uneducated and being a child... Also, that comparison is highly irrelevant. Adoption is not handled by the child but by the institution that cares for him and it's a very thorough process which also involves constant visits post-adoption to make sure the child is well-treated et co. Now, if you asked the kid if he wants to vote with the party which supports adoption or if the party which wants to burn all the orphans then he would have a pretty good idea on who to vote. Of course it depends on each country's political system but many places end up with just 2 candidates, each on a different extreme. Rarely a gray area.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Not really. There's veeery little difference in the decision making process of a child and an uneducated adult. That comparison was a hypothetical situation that was tailored to make the concept simple for you to understand. Your reasons for making it irrelevant were truly irrelevant. Too bad real life elections are rarely that obvious. My comparison between someone giving a child candy vs making a child eat their vegetables is far more realistic. Politicians can manipulate the hell out of uneducated people because they will often take things at face value without really worrying about all the other repercussions. The most prominent example I can think of is the War on Drugs. Many people are completely uneducated about that topic, and follow the logic that "drugs are bad = drugs should stay illegal". However, they don't grasp what legalizing drugs would truly mean. Just about any person educated on the subject would vote to have them legalized and regulated. It's the uneducated people keeping them illegal, and EVERYBODY has to suffer the consequences of that decision.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I'm educated and I'm against the legalization of drugs. I don't know where you're from, but legal drugs are doing a horrible thing to Europe. The only "educated" people I know who are pro-legalisation are drug users who just want it legal for their own benefit, which qualifies as an uneducated desire (since education has nothing to do with it, but personal preference). A few years ago the final choice of presidents in my country was between a right-wing extremist who wanted to banish all immigrants(legal ones too) and citizens of foreign origin from the country. Are you saying that the uneducated gypsies, Hungarians and gays here shouldn't have had the right to vote against him just because they didn't follow through with college?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

And you're SURE you're educated? The only countries that I know of that have drugs decriminalized are Portugal and Holland, and both seem to be doing extremely well because of it, boasting lowered drug use rates, violent crime, incarceration rates, and disease rates because of it. Then you don't know anybody educated on the subject of drugs. What about the COUNTLESS doctors, mathematicians, law enforcement agents, and judges who want to end the war on drugs? I'm not trying to be mean, but at this stage in the game I'm starting to think you're being ignorant. http://www.bmstahoe.com/Drugs/ Educate yourself. Why does the type of person they are have to do with anything? I'm sure there were uneducated natives and educated foreigners. Following through with college isn't vital to being educated. You just turned that into a matter of discrimination against sexual preference and race. That's not what this is about.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

... Amsterdam is a shithole where you're afraid to walk alone at night =/. The junkie-to-normal person ratio is ridiculous, and it's fucking up their immigration system because of so many people who move to holland for the drugs. Also, legal drugs can be found all across Europe and are currently turning many places into shitholes where 13-year-olds try to break into people's homes for more pot money. And there are countless politicians out there who feel strongly(and advertise) about their hatred of minorities and gays, and saying that education should stop them from voting against them is about as intelligent as your pro-drugs post sounded. Which is to say, not so much.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I've lost patience with you. What the fuck are you talking about? You're just making this stuff up, now. Amsterdam has some of the lowest crime rates and drug use rates in Europe. Drug tourism contributes a lot of money their government. Guess what, though? None of that shit would have to happen if drugs were legal elsewhere. Did you even check the link? You'd have to be an idiot to not see the logic in the reasoning. Not too mention that stuff has been proven time and time again. Again, discrimination against that stuff has absolutely nothing to do with the argument at hand. Nothing. Guess what? One policy is NOT the only reason you should be voting for or against someone. What if the people who wanted to oust the immigrants and gays had plans that would propel the country to the top of the world, and their opponents would wreck the country? It would still be heavily biased voting and is not a good idea. Bottom line, you're an idiot.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Technically, bottom line is you should get your head out of that pot and think about what you're saying ;).

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I wasn't afraid to walk alone at night in Amsterdam anymore than where I live, actually probably less afraid. It certainly is not a shit hole, it is a beautiful place and most people are kind and friendly, and there really aren't many junkies compared to most other major cities, yeah there are always going to be some but Amsterdam really isn't unsafe or ruined because of their relaxed drug policy.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

It's a beautiful city during daytime, but I had like 5 junkies threaten or proposition me while I was walking towards the night bus station. Every night. And it's always funny to be in a bus station along with a bunch of passed out junkies. Not creepy or disturbing at all.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

If people uneducated can't vote, that takes away the whole point of a democracy; that EVERYONE has a voice. Plus, what would you have to do, take a test to see if they are knowledgable enough to vote?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

And that is why the U.S. is not a democracy, it's a democratic republic. We use this system so we can put educated people in a position to make the decision because the uneducated often make bad decisions.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Yes they have a right to but isnt it their responsibility to educate themselves on politics since it will be affecting them? You can't just listen to what anyone promises you

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I'm torn. I feel like there should be some standards you need to meet to be allowed to vote because way too many people barely follow the election and/or primaries, and their votes are primarily based on whatever slogan or propaganda they like best. The only problem with that is how to differentiate who's qualified and who's not--there are a lot of idiots who graduate college, and if we devised a test, then it'd be biased in one way or another because the people writing it would probably be the politicians themselves, or a committee of their choosing. There's no way to win.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

It wasn't until several comment in that I realized that I did not, in fact, click on the above post. Since the above post is about porn, I was understandably confused.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

In Australia, everyone is legally required to vote, which means that people who really don't care about politics and who leads the country are forced to make a decision that they may know nothing about. Admittedly, most of the people who don't know/care will put in a donkey vote, but some will just number the candidates down from first to last down the voting slip, with no real consideration for policy or merit. Even though I can't vote, I wish Australia didn't have compulsory voting.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

The solution to uneducated voting is simply education of voters.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I want names of political actors(people) in this "right to vote" discussion. Preferably ones who wish uneducated people DO NOT HAVE the right to vote.

by Anonymous 11 years ago