Think For Yourself

I won't make up anything about the second day of the Republican Convention because, well, I didn't see it. Sorry. Maybe I can get to it later. But I do have news I would like to discuss:

When our Founding Fathers started this country, they had to think for the future. They knew that the smart and innovative ideas of freedom would become increasingly popular, so they had to think long and hard about the kind of government they would want. Eventually, they saw the positives in federalism and chose an indirect democracy.

For those of you who don't know, an indirect democracy is when you elect an official for a position. They, in essence, really have more power than you to make the important decisions that will affect you in everyday life. You elect someone to make decisions that should be in your favor, so you don't have to.

What is the other kind of democracy then, that I believe should be used more? Direct democracy. And if you don't know what that is, it's exactly what the ancient greeks in Athens had. Every citizen is part of making the laws and it is fair. They vote, the vote is tallied, and a law is created. Simple.

But this eventually developed into the Romans' form of government. They had a senate who made the important decisions for you.

How does this relate to today? How is it affecting me in this election?

You see this pretty often, actually. When a group, say the FDNY, endorses President Bush, it obviously gets people's attentions. They think, "Oh wow, I really like the FDNY. And they support Bush so maybe I should too". They stop thinking for themself.

Another such example, a better one, is how many Catholics are tending to claim they are Republicans when they hear a official Catholic group of "officials" endorse President Bush. This can get legions of voters to be persuaded. They listen to the "authority" and believe they must. But many feel torn between both. Say that they have been a Catholic Democrat. They feel they must listen to the others, and therefore aren't really listening to themselves completely. And each vote represents one person with views to make this country better, and it should be their own views showing how they really feel about the issues.

Please, in this election just do one thing for whatever party you favor or how you stand on issues: Think For Yourself.

More direct democracy in the United States wouldn't be a bad thing. Just pick carefully and thoughtfully in the primary and presidential elections, and that is a type of direct democracy in its own.