I want all of you to think about the right to vote. This means that you have the ability to decide (through a public poll who gets to assist in running your country for the next few years) For those of you who are reading this and might not have the ability to vote, please read on!
Now, that last sentence might seem like a little bit of a surprise to most people... but I want you to think of this: what happens when you are disabled and can't make it to the poll? what if you are mentally disabled and your caregivers decide that you aren't of sound mind to vote? there are a lot of factors regarding this right, even within our "free" society. I implore those of you who have voted to put yourselves in their shoes and think about how you would feel. Then think about your own stance on that situation.
Now, I will draw your attention to another point about our form of government that has been talked about in back alleys and in the dark shadows of the parliament/capitol... The people we vote into power... are they really qualified to make decisions on... lets say medical policy? drug policy? educational policy? economic policy? in most cases the people we vote into power have a career based on POLITICS. Their university careers are spent looking at ways of running a government, or in law. They are decidedly not experts in any field of applied study that would inform them better on the issues they decide. Now, I will say that when a decision is to be made in congress or parliament, they try to get the most unbiased information from professionals in order to make an informed decision. Who decides what this information is? mostly they are lobbyists and other special interest groups that may have an agenda of their own. Because the people we have elect to make decisions for us are easily swayed by the "expert" opinion of the people they interact with.
For example, I give you the medical doctor who attends to a congressperson. What if he/she could benefit from new legislation... what is stopping him/her from trying to convince their patient (the congressperson) that this legislation is beneficial? Nothing; and it happens all the time. The congressperson trusts the opinion of the doctor, who is an expert in medical knowledge.
So who really has the power to change things within our country(s) the truth is, we all do, it just matters who you know, and how you convince your elected officials to your way of thinking. whether that way of thinking is right or wrong, is a matter of opinion. That's my two cents
I think it is our responsibility as voting citizens to do exactly what that doctor did in your scenario. When a piece of legislation comes up that really matters to us, we need to contact our representatives, whether it be email, phone call, Twitter, or at a barber shop, and let them know how we, the people who voted them in to office, feel.
ReplyDelete@Zachery Schiller, I completely agree! it's really sad that a lot of people don't understand this and take a laissez faire attitude toward government. That they won't be able to make a difference. bull-plop. and the internet makes it easier to communicate and get consensus based on informed information provided by educated people
ReplyDelete@Zachery Schiller, also though, that doctor might have a motive that is not in the best interest of the nation. Then the congressperson imparts that information to the rest of congress, then they make the decision.
ReplyDeleteEssentially, all I'm saying is that we need to be careful when we trust elected officials, and remember that they are not infallible