+166 It's kind of disheartening to realize that the most educated and wise people get the same amount of say as high school dropouts as to who is going to run the country, amirite?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's also disheartening that despite a person's intelligence or education, politics can boil down to completely emotional decisions with no basis in objective fact.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

No it's wonderful. Every citizen should have a say in who runs their country. I wish more people were educated politically, but it would be more disheartening to say "no you don't have a say as a citizen because we believe you are not smart enough"

by Anonymous 12 years ago

i agree. who runs the country will make decisions that apply to every citizen, not just the ones that are educated.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Except for kids because they are dum

by Anonymous 12 years ago

You can't vote until you're 18 so kids can't vote anyhow. And it's *dumb.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

But kids are citizens

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I can see you're trying to troll by picking apart one word I used even though you can perfectly understand what I was saying. Kids are citizens but they can't vote. Are you disputing that fact and saying you wish a 6 year old could vote? Otherwise your comment is just nonsense.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

No.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Exactly. High school dropouts are just as much citizens as anyone else. They have to live by the rules and pay taxes so they should get as much say as anyone else. I'm only 18 and still in high school, but I think my opinions matter just as much as a person with a PhD.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

This post is disheartening. Everyone has an opinion and has just as much a right to voice it as anybody else. And just because someone dropped out of highschool doesn't mean they're stupid, and just because someone is educated doesn't mean they make better decisions about the country than poorly educated people.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I think this post is getting taken a little out of context...when i said "well educated and wise" and "high school dropouts", i was trying to convey people that do make well reasoned choices about everything (including politics) vs. people who make consistently bad choices about life (including politics). Basically, I'm saying it's frustrating because even when we have a good candidate, there's a good chance they won't win because so many people don't spend the time researching to make a well-reasoned vote.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Popular vote isn't always used to determine the next president. The electoral college does. 2000 Presidential Election, anyone?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

That's different, because popular vote BY STATE still determines it. All electoral votes go to whoever won the popular vote in each state. So technically, all members of the same state have the exact same say - it varies tiny amounts from state to state, but generally the amount of people per electoral vote is the same. The 2000 election was a fluke because Gore won the states he won by MORE than Bush won his states. For example, Gore could win by 100,000 votes in one state, and then Bush wins by 20,000 votes each in two states. Bush may have more electoral votes, but Gore technically has more popular votes. Again, though - popular vote BY STATE determines the president.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

^^ What the person above me said. To me, it's also not disheartening because (although the post doesn't mention this), it's fairly obvious which one of the two would likely RUN for office of some sort and have a chance at being elected. Regardless of who votes...we generally elect qualified people...whether you disagree with their political views or not. If you're a citizen, you can vote. That's what this country is, a democracy. Just my honest opinion.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Popular vote has no ties whatsoever to who wins the presidency.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Uhh.....what country? The United States it does...popular vote by state determines which candidate all electoral votes for that state go to. So technically, a wise man and a highschool drop out in the same STATE have just as much say, it would theoretically vary a little from state-to-state depending on how many citizens were in the state.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Well it is fair because a high school dropout would vote for someone who could make changes so the situations or reasons behind their dropout stop existing.

by Anonymous 12 years ago