Sorry I have been MIA for longer than usual, but both me and the little one have been battling some nasty bug. Plus I have clients going crazy which has meant little time for blogging.
Anyway today as the spousal unit and I once again were discussing the sorry state of America and the 2008 election and the fact that Sarah “Simpleton” Palin seems to be wowing the average American. I was reminded that once upon a time in America white folks tried to prevent Black folks from voting by creating poll taxes and literacy tests. My father is old enough to have seen his father subjected to these inhumane practices, thankfully the Voting Rights Act of 1965 did away with this nonsense. Which is why what I am about to say will seem crazy as hell.
I say we need to make a test that all voting age Americans who register to vote must take, now no this would not be a basic literacy test. It would be a test of the issues facing the nation, you know shit like the state of the economy, real threats not the shit that we are hearing from folks who would have us to believe we are on some sort of mission from God. Now the Blues Brothers is one of my favorites movies and when they dropped that line in the flick, it was funny as hell yet when I hear vice presidential candidates basically state we are on a mission from God, now that shit makes my blood run cold. I admit I am a former pacifist and while I do believe there are times when wars are unavoidable lets not make a habit of fighting for the sake of fighting either.
When folks start basing their voting choices off the fact that so and so seems nice and like them, I say its time to do something drastic hence the creation of the issues test. If you can’t pass a test that shows you really know what’s going on in the world then guess what no voting rights for you until you can pass the test. Now I know some folks will scream its discriminatory as hell, yep it is but maybe voting should be a right you gotta earn similar to driving a car. You need to prove you know what the fuck is going on, see after almost 8 years of Bush-Cheney we cannot afford another 4 years in the same sad sack state where our rights our being eroded and America is slipping into second world status but as long as the plasma tv and 1000 channels works on the cable we sit by and wonder why gas and food is going up.
Nope, the voting test means folks would have to think more critically than any of the shit that is spewed on Fox News and while I don’t want to see folks of color disenfranchised, this little test would also rid the voting pool of a fair chunk of white folks too so it would be fair.
Now if only we could make this test mandatory for the folks running for office, after all just because Alaska is close to Russia does not give one any idea of what goes on over there.
In any event, my plan is radical and unthinkable but at least a girl can dream.