My ‘70s Poli Sci class (also, vote!)

Problems of Democracy

I took a political science class in the ‘70s titled ‘Problems of Democracy’.  Interestingly, even though I read the course description, I thought the class would be about the issues of the ‘70s: the war (the Viet Nam conflict to qualify it, as we’ve had several since), civil unrest, and the economy.  It sounded interesting.  Boy was I surprised when it turned out we were studying the actual issues of ‘democracy’ – people governing, usually through representatives.

One problem – participation

One of the problems we studied was citizen participation.  Remember that when democracy was invented, few were citizens qualified to vote. Typically land-owning males made the cut. Early democratic theorists were concerned about too few or too many citizens voting.  Too many citizens could lead to mob rule.

Election Day – 2020

One could argue that in the US we have had too few voters participate in the past, leading to a gradual loss of legitimacy of our government.  This a very bad thing.  Fortunately, you can help – please vote if you have not already.  Please ask your friends to vote. The larger the vote, the more legitimate the outcome will be, regardless of which candidate wins (true at all levels, from President down to city councilperson).

Need help?

https://iwillvote.com/ will help you find out where and when to vote. https://www.vote411.org/ from the League of Women Voters can help too.  If you want a Republican version, it’s https://vote.gop/

Reminder

Please vote – Monday for early-voting or Tuesday on Election Day.  The League of Women Voters vote411.org can help you see who is on the ballot.

Mail ballots – don’t, it’s too late – take them to an official drop off or your vote might not be counted.

Please ask your friends and family to get out and vote. Really.

Request

A friend of mine works at the polls.  She mentioned that some people don’t wear masks to vote.  Wear a mask, please. Remember – the mask is you protecting the other guy from getting sick. I know you would not want to be the one who got someone else sick.  It’s not a political statement, it’s civic decency.  Please wear an actual mask to vote and help keep my older friend from getting COVID and having a bad outcome.  Thank you.

Actions you can take include:

If you have not seen the “Why you should read this blog…WIIFY” post, it’s here https://nosurprisesretirement.com/2017/07/09/first-blog-post/

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