Before we begin, Urban Toot thinks that an educated voter is the best voter. Before you vote on any proposition please educate yourself. You can learn about the current California Voter Propositions at the California Secretary of State Voter Information Guide Web Site.
“Political corruption, social greed, and Americanized quasi-socialism can ruin even the most wonderful places. California proved that.”
― Tiffany Madison
Propositions
So, with the eve of the election upon us it’s time to think about not only the presidential election, but also the dearth of propositions that have been placed in front of the Glendale voting public.
In fact this year California voters will face 11 propositions. They range in topic from tax money on education to the death penalty. The issues are serious and tend to be heady in details. You can read about them here at BallotPedia.org
Urban Toot encourages you to educate yourself and to ponder the issues. However, we have something else for you to ponder: are propositions good for California?
This may come as a shock to most Americans but the Untied States is a Republic and unlike what most of the public thinks, America is not a democracy. Yes we can argue about the wider definition of democracy but the point is that we elect our leaders to govern. We choose them for a wide range of reasons (how they look, what they think, who we think they are) but their job is ultimately to govern.
Our elected leaders should be making new laws, striking down old antiquated laws and, well you know, governing. By having the current proposition system anyone with a couple of million dollars can try to evoke laws that benefit themselves without much thought to the common good. Yes there are still some checks and balances ensure that the propositions aren’t too much out of whack with our nation of laws, but the people who float these propositions already know that. They carefully craft these propositions so that they have the best chance to hold up when challenged in court. So in essence, money talks.
Many people will agree that the system is broken. Most people do argue about how to fix the system. We argue, we pontificate and we do nothing. Nothing happens, nothing gets fixed. The problems get worse but just worse enough that we don’t dare do anything that requires a radical change. We don’t really fix anything and we continue in a downward spiral.
So here is my “what if?” What if we all voted? No really. What happens if the fat, the lazy, the super know it all’s, the Republicans, The Democrats, The Tea Party’s, the far left tree huggers, the far right meanies, everybody who is legal to vote actually voted? What would things look like and more importantly what would our society be like?
It’s easy to say “What if?” but how do we get everyone to vote? What if voting was the law? The federal government says that we have to file income taxes, and soon have medical insurance so why not vote? Well because it’s not in our elected leaders interest to have people vote. If people don’t vote then change doesn’t happen and everything stays how it is and that’s how the people in power like it. They like it when things stay the same because they stay the same, in power.
What if we voted ‘no’ on all the propositions? What if we demanded that our elected leaders actually do their job and govern? What if we all wrote or emailed or stopped by our leaders’ offices and told them what we think? What if our leaders had to work as hard as non profits to get donations and fulfill their missions?
What if?
Back to the propositions– What if the California population voted against them all and our elected leaders had to make good laws? We’d vote out the bums who didn’t make laws and elect new people who understood that their future was tied in with ours.
What if we cared as much about how our elected leaders performed as we do about how the Dodgers and the Lakers perform?
It would take the strength and resolve of the people of Glendale and California to say “no to everything and everyone”. It would take strength and resolve to evoke the necessary changes to make radical, effective and substantial changes in our government.
Now it’s up to you. What will you do to make a change? Will you continue to be part of the problem or be part of the solution? Tell us how you think government should change. Tell us what you think of the Proposition system in California.